Revealed: Plans for $1m shop top development at Bonville

Residents of new subdivision in the well-regarded Bonville area will be able to walk or ride to their ‘local’ for a cuppa or a meal. See what’s planned.

A new subdivision in the sought after Bonville area is set to break the typical confines of such projects - with plans for a million dollar ‘hub’ anchored by a convenience store.

A development application for the hub has been lodged with Coffs Harbour City Council, and it includes a shop, kiosk, toilets, parking and two residential units.

The developer is local firm Gowing Bros who also delivered the widely acclaimed Coffs Central shopping centre.

Plans for a shop top development designed by architect Dylan Wood have been lodged with Coffs Harbour City Council.

The housing subdivision to be known as Sawtell Commons will be different to the cookie-cutter approach of most developments, in that it will have a communal heart, architect Dylan Wood said.

“The community shop will be somewhere where people can get their essentials, have a coffee and a basic meal,” Mr Wood said.

While most subdivisions are “just houses and cul-de-sacs”, Mr Wood said the mini-commercial hub would provide a communal gathering place for residents.

“Sawtell Commons will be a place where people can bump into one another, and it will get them out from behind the wheel of their car as they’ll be able to walk or ride a bike (to the hub),” he said.

Dylan Wood: “The community shop will be somewhere where people can get their essentials.”

The project is expected to provide six ongoing jobs, and the building will comprise cement and timber.

The estimated cost of the Angler Crescent shop top housing development will be just over $1 million, with the store to trade seven days a week.

Mr Wood said environmentally-friendly building materials would be incorporated, and the vision includes an adjacent playground.

“Gowings - they do good work. Coffs Central is one of the few shopping centres that I don’t hate to be in,” he said.