Another large commercial and residential complex could be in the works for the Wollongong CBD, with plans to raze the remains of the city's historical gas works.
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Jemena has lodged plans to demolish and remediate what is left at the former Wollongong Gasworks site, located on Smith Street between the Collegians Club and the Illawarra rail line.
Three commercial buildings - formerly home to the Housing Trust, which relocated to Coniston last month - will be knocked down and the majority of the trees and other structures will also be removed.
According to the plans, this will "allow redevelopment of the site for a mixture of commercial and residential land uses at some stage in the future".
The old industrial site operated between 1883 and 1977. As a result there is remaining contamination in the soil and groundwater.
A development application now open for comment through Wollongong City Council says there could be a number of noise and pollution impacts associated with the planned demolition works.
These include dust generation, the disturbance of asbestos in the two storey office building and the exposure of hazardous materials in the soils.
Construction noise will also affect some residential properties near the old gasworks, with people living in the apartment at 2-12 Young Street likely to be most affected, the plans say.
However, Jemena says there will be mitigation procedures in place to limit these adverse effects.
"The project is considered to be in the public interest as it will facilitate the remediation of the site, which will improve the health a safety of the surrounding environment," the plans say.
Gradual remediation of the gasworks has been underway for more than 20 years, beginning in 1997.
About half was fully remediated in 2005, and is now part of the Collegians' complex.'
In 2012, Jemena notified the NSW EPA about contamination on the site. The company says the planned demolition work will enable better access to the existing contamination to allow for its clean-up.
Already, as part of the project, site assessments have identified "a range of contaminants of potential concern", and late last year, two stock piles at 122 Smith Street were removed.