Plan for 1000 homes over Warrawong Plaza started almost a year ago

Elanor Investors Group bought the centre and settled in early 2022 - from that point they started planning a massive residential development of at least 12 towers featuring more than 1000 homes that would sit on top.

"For nine months we'd been putting together a strategic master plan for the asset," Elanor's Head of Retail, Development and Mixed-Use, Matt Healy said.

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"We bought the asset because it's a great shopping centre with potential. There was always the opportunity to incorporate additional usages be it residential, commercial as well as medical health and wellbeing.

"We always buy the shopping centre with the intent of adding value and creating a real commercial town centre out of the asset."

When the previous state government announced its Rezoning Pathways pilot program in December last year - which aimed to fast-track changes in land zoning - Mr Healy said Elanor put forward three proposals.

They weren't expecting Warrawong Plaza to be the one that made it onto the shortlist of five.

Wollongong City Council has said the first time they knew of the proposal was last Friday, but Mr Healy said they were briefed late last year.

"I met with them in October last year and I did share with them that we were working up a master plan for the asset and we would share it with them at the appropriate time.

"It was always the intent to engage with council. As part of this process we will still engage heavily with council and all the stakeholders."

The pilot program only deals with fast-tracking the necessary rezoning to allow for residential properties to be built on the site.

A detailed development application will also need to be lodged and approved before any work can commence.

Mr Healy said, if all the boxes were ticked, Elanor wasn't expecting construction to begin for another two to three years. Even then it will be done in stages - between one to three towers at a time - rather than all at once.

Overall, it is a four-stage master plan that would stretch over 15 years.

The aim is to place as many of the towers over the built form of the plaza, but Mr Healy said there would be some sections that will need to be strengthened or rebuilt.

Some much-needed affordable housing would also feature in the development.

"Part of the selection criteria with the state government was that at least 15 per cent of the product would be affordable housing," Mr Healy said.

"We've gone so far as to committing somewhere between 15 to 30 per cent."

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