Developers unveil four-storey Pako building plans, citing divisive city UDF

Developers have unveiled plans to build a four-storey office building on Pakington St, citing a divisive city plan for the strip to realise its “development potential”.

Developers have unveiled plans for a new multi-level Pakington St building

Developers have unveiled plans to build a four-storey office building on Pakington St, citing a divisive city plan to overhaul the popular strip to help it realise its “development potential”.

A planning application lodged with the city revealed the bid to build a $2m four-storey building on an empty block used as a private carpark, across the road from The Strand shopping centre.

An artist's impression of the proposed Pakington St building

The application outlines plans for a ground floor “food and drink premises”, three floors of “anticipated” office space, and a reduction in required carparking to allow developers to provide no car parks.

The proposed 15.5m-tall building would neighbour two double-storey buildings.

The planning application refers to the City of Greater Geelong’s controversial Pakington St (Geelong West) and Gordon Ave urban design framework (UDF), a strategic document outlining the city’s approach to infill development in the area, including a push to encourage developments of up to 10 storeys.

“The overall building height reflects the future vision for the Pakington St North Precinct which seeks graduate increase in building height, which peaks at eight storeys in the core of the precinct and reduces to one to two storeys towards the periphery of the precinct,” a planning report accompanying the application noted.

“The proposed building has taken cues from the preferred future character of the precinct, which seeks to increase local traffic, support expansion of commercial and retail uses, extend the precinct’s activity after hours through a greater mix of uses and provide passive surveillance onto Pakington St.

“State and local policies recognise the importance of creating compact liveable precincts which are attractive places to live and work with a general objective to create 10 or 20-minute neighbourhoods within the regional cities of Victoria.”

The city’s UDF includes proposed preferred maximum building heights reach up to 10 storeys in the Gordon Ave precinct, up to eight storeys in the Pakington St North precinct and just two storeys in the Heritage Core between Wellington and Autumn streets.

The UDF has received firm pushback from the community over a range of concerns, particularly focusing on the overdevelopment of the popular area.

The planning application will remain open for public comment until November 17.

Originally published as Developers unveil four-storey Pako building plans, citing divisive city UDF