Developers have lodged plans for a new $77 million high-rise development on Ellen Street, which will house 273 new apartments over two 17 storey towers as well as a supermarket and large childcare centre.
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If approved, the towers will dominate the fast-growing south Wollongong residential precinct, transforming the corner block on Atchison, Ellen and Kenny Streets.
The site has been marked for development for the past four years, with a previous plan for a 16-storey, 203 apartment complex atop two levels of commercial and retail space, and four basement parking levels lodged in 2016.
Then in 2018, the development was put up for sale, and now the Sydney-based Level 33 Property Developers have lodged new - if slightly similar - plans.
The new plan is seeking permission to raze all existing buildings, and construct a 17 storey mixed use building, and undertake excavation to create two levels of basement parking.
There will be 2,425sqm of non-residential floor space at ground level and Level 2, which includes space for a cafe and supermarket, as well as commercial/office floor space.
A new childcare centre for around 80 children would take up 432sqm, with 605sqm of outdoor play space.
Levels two to 17 will contain the 273 apartments, with 78 one-bedroom, 191 two-bedroom and four three-bedroom apartments. Of these, 10% will be adaptable apartments and 10% will be "liveable" apartments, which means they will be more suitable for people with disabilities, ageing Australians, people with temporary injuries, and families with young children.
Over the three levels, there will be a total of 341 car parking spaces.
Requesting the council's favourable consideration, the developers have noted that Wollongong, and especially the southern area, "has undergone significant transformation in recent years and has become an increasingly vibrant and liveable city,"
"Gaining from the rise of Sydney into a global city status, Wollongong has become an increasingly important business and commercial hub in supporting Sydney and the Wollongong Metro Core currently supports 34,000 jobs and is a vital centre of employment for health, retail, education and arts sectors for the NSW South Coast," they said.
They noted the area south of the CBD had already undergoing significant change, with dramatically increased building heights and shift to more residential, rather than industrial land uses.
For instance, they said there are four approved and under construction towers with will add a total of more than 280 residential units to Atchison and Kenny in the coming years. These will all be between 12 and 18 storeys high, according to the approved plans.