The project is the brainchild of WIN Corp boss Bruce Gordon, and plans to redevelop an entire city block bordered by Crown, Atchison, Burelli and Keira streets.

The development will include three apartment blocks, co-working office space, a cinema, music venue and a number of retail outlets, restaurants and cafes.

Cr Bradbery said WIN Grand came at a time where the COVID fallout was forcing a different approach to working.

Read more: Call to open outdoor businesses to those fully vaccinated

"At the present time we have to do a whole rethink, not only with this opportunity, but also with the implications of the pandemic - people are now working from home and there's a decentralisation in Sydney," Cr Bradbery said.

"It's all part of a suite of possibilities as far as the refurbishment and the redevelopment of our city."

Cr Bradbery said the combination of commercial, retail and entertainment options will add a "vitality" to the city.

"In terms of the people who are going to live there, they will have expectations that it's not just about shopping, it's also about recreational entertainment and services," Cr Bradbery said.

"The idea being that this will spill over and energise the nightlife and will become an attractor, not only for those who live in that space but also for those who would journey to the centre of Wollongong - seeing it as a hub for entertainment services and hospitality and those sorts of things."

Illawarra Business Executive Director Adam Zarth said the $400 million project was one of the most significant private sector investments in the region.

"Ultimately, an investment of this scale will provide a host of economic benefits for the wider region throughout its lifetime, together with the addition of local jobs and a much-needed revitalisation of our city's core," Mr Zarth said.

"This proposal will transform the heart of the Wollongong CBD, and deliver our community a world-class precinct that will add significantly to the entertainment, retail and recreation offerings of the city."

Many businesses on the block will have to relocate should the project get the green light from council.

These included the Wollongong Medical Centre, owned by the IPN Group, Spotlight and Chemist Warehouse - all of whom were contacted for comment.

A spokesman for IPN said "Wollongong Medical Centre has been dedicated to providing high-quality healthcare to the community since the late '90s and moving forward, this will not change".

The city's only record store - Music Farmers - will also have to pack up and move.

Having been in the CBD since 2004, the store has been at its Keira Street location since 2014.

Co-owner Jeb Taylor said he had known the development had been coming for some time but had not yet been given any timeline for when they would have to leave the premises.

The intent is to continue the Music Farmers' CBD presence by finding a new premises - which would be their fourth since 2014.

"I guess part of the thing about owning a fairly niche independently-owned business for a long time is you have landlords, and moving at different times is inevitable," Taylor said.

"While the actual part of moving and re-establishing a new location is a lot of extra work, all of our moves so far have given us a chance to grow and have been positive, so hopefully that trend continues into location four."

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