A 109-bed aged care facility rising up to four storeys will be built on the old West Wollongong school site, according to a new plan.
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Estia Health has lodged a proposal with Wollongong City Council to build a part two, three and four storey complex on the Crown Street land.
According to the development application, the new building will also have ground level ancillary community health service facility and a respite day care centre.
The site, situated above hard rock which has plagued many developments along Crown Street, will be excavated to include a basement parking and a loading dock, with 45 car spaces across the development.
The site will be linked to Urunga Parade, parallel to Crown Street, for traffic access. The developers will also provide upgrades to a council-owned public pathway linking Urunga Parade and Crown Street.
In their application, Estia says the proposed community health service facility and respite day care centre will be open to both residents and the wider community "offering a great public benefit".
"The respite day care centre will support aged people and their carers by providing a break for a short period of time, giving a chance for the carer to get to everyday activities or go on a planned break," documents on exhibition with the council said.
The residential care facility will provide dementia specific accommodation and help in meeting the demand for seniors services in the Wollongong LGA, they said. It will be well connected, and is near public transport, shops, Wollongong Hospital and the growing private medical precinct in the area.
The architecture of the new building has been designed to factor in the prominent Crown Street frontage, as well as the privacy of adjoining houses, the sloping land and the "panoramic vistas," the documents said. It will appear as a two-storey block on Crown Street and be divided into four wings.
"The proposed development ensures adequate daylight to the main living areas and substantial areas of private open space to neighbours," the architects said.
The former school site was razed last year after the old buildings - most recently used as the School Education Area Office for the NSW Department of Education - became derelict after sitting vacant for several years.
Most vegetation on the site was cleared during the demolition, but the developers have requested to remove two extra flame trees and one date palm at the front of the site.
Most of the distinctive Canary Island Date palms along Crown Street will be retained under the plan, at the council's request.
The plans are open for public comment until December 4.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
