$3.4m shop top housing proposed for former library site
Residents can now offer feedback on the development application.
Lismore
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A $3.4 MILLION shop top housing development has been proposed for Lismore's CBD.
The development application, lodged by planning firm Newton Denny Chapelle on behalf of Northern Rivers Community Gateway, is now on public exhibition.
Along with a business space and open-air car park on the ground floor, the proposed development includes 10 units, communal areas, tenants' and garden plots.
Vertical planting features on the outside of the building are included in the development plans.
The proposal would retain NRCG's existing community centre at 14-18 Bounty St as well as part of the carparking space which is accessed through Carrington St.
According to minutes from an April 9 pre-lodgement meeting between the developer and Lismore City Council, NRCG initially proposed to build a standard residential flat building next to its existing hub.
But this land use wouldn't be allowed under the site's zoning, and the separate community centre wouldn't satisfy the requirements for a shop top housing proposal.
"Shop top housing is to encourage active street frontages while having a residential component above to provide passive surveillance, improve the viability of shops, contribute to the vibrancy of the CBD and increase the supply housing choice/availability to
the CBD," the meeting minutes said.
"It is therefore considered that a retail/business component that addresses the Carrington St frontage is required to validate the proposed land use in this instance."
The building currently used as NRCG's community centre was originally built as a council library in the 1970s.
An art gallery was also earmarked for the site, but neither of these plans eventuated.
It's now owned by NRCG, a non-profit which was formed in 1976 and provides welfare and other programs for disadvantaged individuals and communities.
Residents can view the DA on the council's website and can provide feedback until December 16.
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