C.ex Group’s $44m high rise plan for the CBD gets the green light

C.ex Group’s John Rafferty reveals more details including a timeline for the much-anticipated development.

Construction works on a $44-million high-rise in the heart of the CBD will kick off in July next year, after the much-anticipated project was given the official tick of approval.

That’s the start date estimated by John Rafferty, the CEO of the C.ex Group which is the local company behind the major thirteen storey development.

No public submissions were made against the plans, and the DA for the mixed-use commercial and apartment building at the site of City Boulevard has now been approved by the Northern Region Planning Panel.

It will include 95 apartments, 155 carparking spaces and seven retail spaces on the ground floor, as well as an open-to-air public laneway joining Harbour Dr with Vernon St.

The residential tower will be made up of one, two and three bedroom apartments and City Boulevard will be demolished to make way for the new development.

An architectural drawing of C.ex Groups' thirteen storey apartment building earmarked for Harbour Drive.

The C.ex Group spent over 18 months strategising ways to activate the city centre, and after exploring ideas such as a 4 and a half star hotel, they came to the conclusion that mixed-use residential was the way to go.

Mr Rafferty said that having people living in the city centre would play a crucial role in reviving the “tired” area, and increasing patronage at local businesses.

“The community response has been really positive. Everybody really just wants to see the activation of the city centre,” Mr Rafferty told The Advocate following the approval.

“The business owners around the CBD are very happy about the development … there could possibly be anywhere up to 300 people living in the apartments.”

View from Vernon St of the soon to be built high rise.

Mr Rafferty said with many of the arcades in the CBD now dated, it is hoped the redevelopment of City Boulevard would see other property owners follow suit.

He noted Gowings, who own Coffs Central, had already done a “wonderful job” in reviving the former Palms Centre mall in recent years.

“The shops we have at the moment have become tired and old, so what do you do? We thought do you just dress them up, or do you do something different that would really activate city centre?”

“If we can get people living in town, other people might think of doing development in town.”

At this stage architectural drawings are being finalised, and the apartments will go to sale roughly around September.

Drawing of the entrance from Harbour Dr.

Mr Rafferty revealed a display area for the apartments will start being set up at C.ex Coffs next month, showcasing some of the finishes and giving prospective buyers an opportunity to walk in and get an idea of what the final build will look like.

He said that with C.ex Group’s asset value building could start “tomorrow” but it was good business practice to sell a majority of the apartments first.

Construction is estimated to take about 18 months and it’s anticipated the project would be complete by January 2024.

The C.ex Group’s plans fall in line with Coffs Harbour City Council’s City Centre Masterplan, which promotes high density residential living in the city centre.