Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal member Jane Monk found in favour of developers seeking the multi-million-dollar project during the second day of the hearing in Bendigo.

It came less than a day after Heritage Victoria registered the historic property, making it the consent authority for any future development.

The approval came almost a year after it was initially sought. Developers originally wanted 29 units all across the historic gardens, causing a public outcry which saw 25 initial objections.

After lengthy negotiations, including with Heritage Victoria and the National Trust, the final plan saw the amount of units reduced, and all shifted to one side, preserving the road-side view of the impressive buildings.

Plans for the redevelopment of the buildings are also in the pipeline.

Project manager Bruce Arthur said he was relieved to finally have stage one of the project approved.

"It is very exciting news. We can now get onto the positive side of the development," Mr Arthur said.

"We will probably stage the development, build the first six and from that set up a couple of display homes." Ms Monk said she was convinced the development would not adversely impact on the historic site.

"It is very difficult to ignore the weight of expert opinion," she said.

"It will remain a landmark on the hillside of Bendigo.

"On balance, the proposal does achieve a nett community benefit."Earlier, objector, Simon Mulqueen, asked for a masterplan of the entire site to be drawn up before approval, to make sure developers followed through with their promise to redevelop the run-down buildings.

"To my knowledge, there are no definitive plans for the historic buildings component of the site, yet over one third of the garden area, attached to the site for over 100 years, is being hived off without a clear indication of how the overall site will be integrated and its historic feel maintained," he said.