Paddington’s Verona Cinema set for luxury apartment transformation and new Golden Age Cinema

Summary: 

• A new Golden Age Cinema with multiple screens and creative performance spaces
• Approximately 60 metres of retail frontage along Oxford Street for small-scale, street-activating businesses
• 53 apartments, including 15 affordable housing apartments
• Landscaped public connections between South Dowling and Verona streets, improving walkability and accessibility.

 
Developer WT Malouf has confirmed plans to transform the much-loved Verona Cinema site on Oxford Street in  Paddington into a new mixed-use destination centred on culture, creativity and community.

The proposal, a State Significant Development Application (SSDA), will deliver a balanced mix of uses including 53 apartments, including 15 affordable, a new Golden Age Cinema with multiple screens and creative performance spaces, and several small-scale, street-activating businesses across its 60 metres of retail frontage.

The development will retain the Verona’s iconic brick façade, recognising the building’s role in Paddington’s cultural life for nearly three decades.

WT Malouf has entered into exclusive arrangements with the operators of Golden Age Cinema & Bar, a much-loved Surry Hills institution named among the Top 100 Cinemas in the World by Time Out. Golden Age will bring four screens and versatile creative spaces back to Paddington, helping to anchor Oxford Street’s future as a cultural and entertainment corridor.

“At a time when Sydney is losing suburban cinemas, we’re committed to creating a bigger and better cinema experience for Paddington,” said Jack Joseph, Director at WT Malouf.

“Golden Age’s arrival will ensure Oxford Street continues to be a home for independent film, live performance and community events.”

The project has been designed in line with the City of Sydney’s Oxford Street Cultural and Creative Precinct strategy, which encourages new investment in cultural space, night-time economy and creative industries. It also aligns with the NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy, contributing to the revival of Oxford Street as a safe, vibrant and connected cultural precinct that operates by day and night.

“This development is about more than apartments,” Joseph said. “It’s about contributing to Oxford Street’s restoration as one of Sydney’s great cultural boulevards, where people come to live, create and socialise.”

‘’The new Verona is a once -in-a-generation opportunity to restore this important part of Oxford Street,’’ said Tim Greer, Director of Tonkins Zulaikha Greer (TZG).

Alongside cultural and creative space, the Verona development will deliver new housing in one of Sydney’s most tightly held suburbs. 15 apartments will be set aside as affordable rental homes for essential workers, ensuring Paddington retains a diverse and connected community.

The project is expected to be determined by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in 2026, with construction planned to start later that year and delivery within three years.