ANOTHER multi-storey property development has been proposed for central Bendigo, adding to a growing number of higher density residential and commercial projects planned for the city.
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The City of Greater Bendigo has received plans for a four-storey office building with a penthouse for 52 Queen Street, currently the location of a circa-1893 house.
The $4.6 million development will be next door to Elders and across the road from the EPA offices – formerly the Bendigo Advertiser – and the offices of Dungey Carter Ketterer. The business proposing the development shares the DCK address.
The plans show a ground level with retail and commercial space, second and third stories with a further four commercial spaces and a top-floor penthouse with three bedrooms, terracing and gardens.
The proposal contains more than 1100 square metres of office space.
A basement car park with 10 spaces is also included in the plans.
The planning report, prepared by E+ Architecture, states that the development is in fitting with the central Bendigo commercial precinct.
“The proposed development will contribute to the character of the area and will add architectural value to the streetscape that is complementary to the neighbourhood character,” the report reads.
“Property height is complementary within the streetscape and the building impact is minimised by facade treatment, use of different materials, and compliance with overlooking and overshadowing regulations.”
The plans also state it is responding to the “growing commercial and residential needs of the City of Greater Bendigo”.
The building will sit at 16.6 metres in height – below the maximum-allowed 20-metre height for new developments in the Bendigo CBD.
The house on the property was built in 1893 and modernised in the 1930s with a masonry and timber verandah added.
Independent heritage advice, commissioned by the council in 2015, found the house did not have heritage significance and is not part of a heritage precinct.
The plans indicate that relocating the house is preferred to its demolition.
Higher density development on the rise in Bendigo
The Queen Street development is the latest in a number of higher density proposals for central Bendigo.
Earlier this year the council approved a seven-storey residential hotel for Bridge Street.
The hotel design drew criticism from a number of councillors as it was above the height restriction for the hospital precinct.
Excavation work has also recently started on ‘Wilson Lane’, a five-storey mix-use residential development on Wills Street.
A multi-storey motel development was approved for Myer Street last year, in a vacant lot near St Paul’s Cathedral.
Amended plans have also been submitted for ‘The Webb’, a $7.5 million proposal for 15 warehouse apartments in the historic William Webb and Co building at the intersection of Williamson and Queen streets.
The development has faced several delays since its approval, including the discovery of a mine shaft.
The 111 Mitchell Street apartment development opened two years ago, with six of the seven apartments selling in the space of months. It lead local real estate agents to predict an “apartment boom” for Bendigo.