6 big things which will change the face of Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour is going gangbusters with a host of big ticket construction projects on the boil. We reveal what’s coming - and how it will change where you live.

Redevelopment of Coffs Harbour continues at breakneck pace, with plans to make two key inner city streets more ‘people-friendly’, with overtures to al fresco roadside dining.

A concept document has been prepared for Park Avenue and Moonee Street - with designs aimed at encouraging pedestrian traffic in the area, while maintaining vehicular access.

“The overall aim of the City Centre Masterplan is to revitalise the CBD as a destination and economic driver and that involves finding innovative ways to renew key streets and bring more people into the area to shop and dine,” council’s Business Services director Andrew Beswick said.

The envisaged makeover is one of a string of developments changing the face of Coffs Harbour.

C.ex Group CEO John Rafferty (inset) with a concept design for the 13-storey $44 million residential and retail high rise in the heart of Coffs. Construction is due to start in a matter of weeks.

Along with the signature construction of a multistorey tower alongside the C.ex club, it’s also full steam ahead for the controversial Yarrila Place cultural and civic space building which will include an art gallery and library.

There are also advancing plans to make the Brelsford Park precinct a more engaging ‘green’ place, while the city is already reaping the economic benefits of the new synthetic sports fields at South Coffs.

Yarrila Place will house a library, art gallery and council staff. The $81m project on Gordon Street is due to be completed in early 2023.

The CBD remains a focus though, especially with the pending highway bypass that will see a significant percentage of traffic on the M1 no longer rumble through town.

Mr Beswick believes the brief for Moonee Street and Park Avenue will add to the picture of a new world Coffs.

The Coffs Harbour Pacific Highway Bypass will swing west of the city, include tunnels, and relieve the traffic bottleneck through town. The $2.2 billion project is due to open in late 2026.

“(It’s) an opportunity to re-imagine the city centre streetscape and fully explore its potential to provide attractive new community spaces that embrace and integrate pedestrian access as safe, convenient and popular,” he said.

Council says Park Avenue and Moonee Street are currently failing as places that draw people into the CBD as they are ruled by cars and have poor pedestrian connections.

There is an absence of kerbside dining and other activities, council notes, and the overall look is visually unattractive.

A major transformation is on the table for Brelsford Park, including a water fun park and performance stage.

The concept plan for Moonee and Park includes:

* Landscaping to soften and improve the streetscape and provide shade and traffic-calming

* Wider footpaths to encourage more on-street activities

Mayor Paul Amos and Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh cut the ribbon at the opening of the Coffs Coast Regional Sports Hub Stage 2 project. The new synthetic fields have proven so popular that rival sports codes are jostling for access to them. Picture: Chris Knight

* Replacement of the Gordon Street/Park Avenue roundabout with traffic lights

* Changes to current parking layouts; and

* Installation of safer pedestrian crossings.

Concept design for Park Avenue and Little Street intersection.

The plan was on display for public feedback until April 8, and council said responses were almost entirely related to either parking or traffic flows.

Suggestions included requests for traffic calming measures, as well as bicycle lanes.

“While this is a concept and not a detailed design, it is of a standard that means we can develop future budget forecasts and seek funding to further develop this strategy,” Mr Beswick said.