A new $44 million office tower is planned for Wollongong's western Crown Street hospital precinct, which is set to dramatically change in the coming years amid a renewed focus on new buildings in the area.
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Rising up to 17-storeys over Hospital Hill, the 383 Crown Street building will adjoin a 65-unit residential tower facing on to Parkinson Street and would be the city's tallest office block.
Sydney-based building company Blaq Projects - which has developed several Wollongong housing projects - has lodged a development application with Wollongong City Council.
If approved, the complex will amalgamate five lots in the western precinct of Wollongong City Centre and will be constructed in three stages - starting with demolition of all structures and excavation for a basement car park.
Overall, there will be 223 car spaces over three levels, with 61 resident spaces, 13 visitors spaces and 149 spaces for workers in the office tower.
Stage two of construction will be the 12-storey Parkinson Street housing tower and finally, stage three will be the 60-metre Crown Street office building.
In the application to the council, MMJ town planner Luke Rollinson has argued the site is ripe for transformation, and says the proposed building would fit well with its surrounds.
"The subject property is sited on the highest peak of the Wollongong CBD area, nestled between the hospitals and the [approved but not constructed 20-storey] Crownview development, which are some of the largest and tallest building forms within the city centre," Mr Rollinson said.
"At this location, the precinct allows for exceptional views of the CBD, the ocean and the Illawarra escarpment."
At 60 metres, the Crown Street building will reach the council's maximum height limit, and the developers have also pointed out that the building "technically fails" to meet Wollongong council's requirements for building separation.
Mr Rollinson has requested that the council allow the plans to go ahead, as the requirements are "unreasonable and unnecessary in the circumstances."
The project is the second in a week to emerge in the west Crown Street area, after another Sydney based firm lodged a proposal for a 20-storey hotel complex at the old Red Rooster site, which has been vacant for years.
For decades, the council has been making efforts to revitalise the city's western entryway - but with several large lots locked up by stalled developments - like the Crownview and another boutique hotel at 385a Crown Street - changes have failed to materialise.
Interestingly, the two new proposals have been lodged (under existing planning laws) after the council revealed in February that it planned to review zoning rules and height limits in the CBD.
Under this plan, the height limits facing the western part of Crown Street would be dramatically reduced, with the council flagging a "low scale street wall" at the sites where the new development applications have been lodged.
This would retain desirable escarpment views from Flagstaff Hill and Market Square and "give access to potential new views that may be made available with redevelopment".
Under the proposed new planning rules, there would also be no extra vehicle entrances along most of Crown Street, to prioritise walking and cycling, as well as higher design standards for major buildings and a strong requirement for new developments to activate the street front.
As they have been lodged before the formal adoption of these rules, the hotel and officer tower will not have to abide by these standards.
The office tower plans are on exhibition at Wollongong City Council until June 24, and will then be considered by the state's Joint Regional Planning Panel due to the high capital investment value.
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