The proposal, lodged with Wollongong City Council on May 9, reveals plans for a multi-use complex including 318 units above retail spaces, along with four levels of parking.

Wollongong architects ADM are behind the site's design.

The old Dwyers site, which borders Crown, Corrimal and Burelli streets in the CBD, once formed part of Wollongong City Plaza's $160 million Gravity development plan, which promised cinemas, shops and offices.

But the project was abandoned in 2008 when parent company Belmorgan went into receivership.

The site sat idle for several years until the council converted a section of it into a 140-space paid car park in 2011.

The car park, slated for removal under the development application, has been well used by CBD workers and those heading out for dinner or a show at night.

A Wollongong City Council spokeswoman said the car park was always intended to be temporary, and alternative parking options were being investigated.

The one-time Dwyers site went on the market in May last year.

Property developer Nicolas Daoud, who is behind several other high-profile projects in Wollongong, bought the site in September, reportedly paying more than $10 million for it.

His construction company was also responsible for the Vantage development on Gladstone Avenue and the Landmark building on the corner of Crown and Station streets.

Mr Daoud said if all went to plan, he hoped construction would begin in the new year.

"It will provide a lot of housing, a lot of shops and it's going to activate the area that's been abandoned for a while," he said.

Plans for the site will go on exhibition on May 28 for three weeks.

The application has been registered with the Joint Regional Planning Panel, as it is worth more than $20 million, but the panel will not be involved in the exhibition.

A Wollongong council spokeswoman said the council would submit its assessment report at the end of the exhibition period.