Construction on the first new housing at Corrimal coke works could start within 18 months according to developers, who finally got the green light to rezone the old industrial site for housing.
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Illawarra Coke Company director Kate Strahorn said the coke works developers hoped to lodge their first development applications by October this year, after the NSW Department of Planning approved the rezoning of 18 hectares of former industrial land for residential and open space last Friday.
Ms Strahorn said there was still a lengthy process to go through before the land could be developed, estimating it would take seven or eight years before all 550 of the planned apartments and town houses were completed.
"We're not going to see the first sod turned immediately - I think it would be at least 12-18 months before we see any construction," she said.
Ms Strahorn said she hoped the development - which her company estimates will add $750 million to the Illawarra economy - would provide a housing entry point for young families, as well as options for downsizers.
"COVID has meant a lot of people can work remotely - so people want to return in the area where they grew up, and the northern subs of the Illawarra has become an option for a lot more families," she said.
We're going to have our own little Wolli Creek, but without the rail service they have at Wolli Creek - with one hourly train [at Corrimal station].
"There's also not a lot of product on the market - so demand is outstripping supply and this is an area people want to live and at a price point they can afford."
"This is an 18 ha industrial site that is just sitting there redundant, doing nothing, so I hope in time, people see it as an incredible transformation."
In addition to the 550 homes, the rezoning will allow for a small neighbourhood centre with a supermarket and cafes, offices, and an outdoor amphitheatre, as well as large swathes of parkland.
Department of Planning and Environment executive director of local and regional planning Malcolm McDonald said the rezoning would "bring derelict land into the 21st century".
"A range of housing types would be offered, including townhouses and apartment blocks up to four storeys, with provision for 35 affordable dwellings," he said.
"The intersection of Memorial Drive and Railway Street would be upgraded to ease congestion and improve safety for motorists and pedestrians."
"The site's character would be retained by preserving two iconic chimney stacks, coke ovens and the old powerhouse building."
The rezoning approval was needed before development applications, which will allow construction to start, can be lodged.
Over the past seven years, developers have faced opposition from various community groups, who have raised concerns about traffic, congestion, over-development and heritage.
However, late last year, when Wollongong City Council considered the rezoning plan, it found that barely 10 per cent of residents objected outright to the plans.
President of Corrimal Community action group - which remains opposed to the development - Anne Marrett said residents were disappointed that there had been no changes to the plans to deal with their outstanding traffic concerns.
She said residents did not believe the developers plans for the intersection of Railway Street and Memorial Drive would deal with the influx of traffic from new coke works residents.
She also said her group remained concerns about how the planned apartment buildings would change Corrimal's character.
"People are selling up around here because it's going to be such a nightmare," Ms Marrett said.
"What you'll see from the street and the station is something like what you'll see at Wolli Creek, with this open space, all paved, backed by endless blocks of units.
"We're going to have our own little Wolli Creek, but without the rail service they have at Wolli Creek - with one hourly train [at Corrimal station]."
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