Wollongong faces a massive shortfall of commercial space in the next 15 years if the city continues developing in its current manner, according to a new plan.
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To fix this, the council has proposed a "commercial core precinct" on Burelli Street, where apartments will be banned and developers are incentivised to build "A-Grade" offices.
According to the Wollongong City Centre Planning Review, Wollongong needs an extra 120,000sqm of office space by 2036, but only 34,000sqm of commercial floor space in the city centre is feasible.
This, the plan says, is a significant barrier for the city to "release its full economic potential"; the council's goal is to create 10,500 extra jobs over 10 years and thousands of these will be in the CBD.
To fix this, Burelli Street will be turned into a "premium commercial street serviced by its proximity to the train station, retail core and MacCabe Park".
An area to be called "Market Street West" would also ban residential development and would be "intended to support a boutique office character with smaller tenancies and shared working spaces well connected to Keira Street and the station".
Other moves to encourage developers to build office blocks could include the establishment of a better bike lane network, and the investigation of how on-site paid car parking could be built into developments.
Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the commercial core precincts were a vital part of the city's future, noting they would build on the office blocks which are already situated on Burelli and Market Streets.
As a whole, he said the planning review marked a turning point for the city centre, and was "a much more sensible plan than the old one which allows skyscapers of up to 120m".
"It is hard to turn a ship around," he said. "But this is a really significant document which will shape the flavour of our city for decades to come, so I would encourage people to have their say when it goes on exhibition."