The developers behind the latest plans to turn the old Corrimal Cokeworks into a new estate for up to 2000 residents say it will revitalise the area, deliver better quality public spaces and allow for a mix of much-needed housing types.
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Legacy Property and the Illawarra Coke Company (ICC) unveiled their latest master plan for the 18-hectare heritage-listed site on Monday, as Wollongong council prepares to consider a revised rezoning proposal next week.
ICC director Kate Strahorn said the latest plans prioritised heritage, the environment and public spaces.
"We're enormously proud to present a master plan that honours our site's heritage, respects our environmental values and provides significant benefits to the broader local community," she said.
One of the most significant redevelopment sites in Wollongong, the cokeworks closed in 2014, and for the past three years developers have been trying to change the now defunct industrial land to medium density housing.
After years of back and forth with the council and residents, they have stuck with their initial plan to build between 735 and 760 homes, but have shifted the layout to make way for extra parkland and highlight the site's industrial heritage.
While their first plan included town houses, detached homes and apartments, the latest version includes only apartment buildings rising between two and six storeys.
Five per cent of these - 35 dwellings - will be set aside for affordable rental housing, to be managed by the Illawarra Housing Trust, and the development is also proposed to house a seniors housing and aged care centre with between 100 and 200 beds.
The centrepiece of the latest plan will be a heritage plaza built next to Corrimal Railway Station, which preserves the coke works' 1912 brick chimney as a landmark visible from within and outside of the site, and retains and interprets some of the old coke ovens and other historic features.
This precinct will have shops and services focusing on commuter and resident convenience, as well as cafes, restaurants and a small supermarket, like an IGA, the developers said.
Ms Strahorn said the former powerhouse building would be turned into a hub for business start-ups or flexible work spaces, with plans likening the heritage area to Canberra's New Acton and Melbourne's Alphington Mill redevelopment.
Read more: New plans 'worse than before': say residents
More than half the site is now proposed as open space - originally 43 per cent was proposed - which will include the riparian corridor, a central neighbourhood park, southern recreation park and the heritage plaza.
Over the past three years, Corrimal residents have raised a litany of concerns about the development, which they believe will alter the character and liveability of their northern suburb, dominate views of the escarpment and create traffic havoc.
Wollongong councillors have also held concerns, and in the past year have taken action to protect the industrial heritage of the site after the developers went outside the council to gain permission to demolish parts of the coke works infrastructure.
Ms Strahorn said she thought the latest plans would appease both the community and council.
Council staff have recommended the councillors support the rezoning proposal going out on public exhibition, but have suggested a lower floor space ratio than the developers have asked for in some parts of the site.
The issue will be debated at next Monday's council meeting, and if supported, will be put out on public exhibition for further comment before being sent back to NSW Planning for final approval.
Why developers will not back away from building 700-plus homes
Mike Williams, from Legacy Property, acknowledged that the newest plans would be dominated by apartments, but said there would still be a range of different homes available.
"Yes, the type of development has been consolidated, but we still have a focus on diversity within those," he said.
Housing types includes studios, loft apartments, stacked terraces, four bedroom apartments for families, the seniors living area and social housing.
To create "diversity" the developers have outlined a vision for four "distinct character precincts" which will guide to look of the various apartments.
Mr Williams said the building heights of up to six-storeys would ensure all buildings within the cokeworks remained at least two storeys lower than the 1912 brick chimney.
He said the developers has worked closely with council over the past 18 months to ensure the building massing and views worked, with the heights of the buildings now increasing progressively towards the centre of the site to minimise impacts on views of residents in surrounding areas.
The building heights around the heritage plaza have been lowered significantly from the original plans and the streets have also been aligned with existing streets in Corrimal so the escarpment can remain visible.
"Normally in development planning you would use the station and put the biggest buildings there and work out, but baed on the feedback from council we have lowered those buildings because of heritage considerations and have moved the height to the western part of the site, which is the furtherest away from the surrounding houses," he said.
Explaining why developers would not back away from their target of more than 700 homes, Mr Williams said to build few houses would not make economic sense.
"If we start to scale back the development, then those benefits have to be scaled back too - so this is about striking the right balance," he said.
"There are a lot of fixed costs in the project, and it needs a certain scale of development to make that worthwhile."
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.
