Council announces major plans to overhaul Wollongong’s CBD

Wollongong Council has released artist impressions of what the CBD could look like in years to come, with bold new plans for a city overhaul revealed.

Artist impressions of a new-look Lowden Square at Wollongong Train Station, which is the proposed “new gateway to the city”. Source: Wollongong City Council. 

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Wollongong’s CBD could undergo a major transformation in the coming years, with the development of a new office precinct and a more “inviting” railway precinct, after council admitted the current design is failing the city.

A new document set to be debated by Wollongong Council next week, is the first major step in what could be a dramatic overhaul of Wollongong’s key areas. The Wollongong City Centre Planning Review, which was released on Tuesday, highlighted several issues in the CBD, including a “confusing and underwhelming” arrival into the CBD, a lack of physical connections in terms of public transport and a potential lack of office or corporate space.

One of the major proposals includes a “commercial core precinct” on Burelli Street, where apartments would be banned and developers encouraged to build prestigious offices.

Artist’s impressions of a new look McCabe Park, with Burelli Street’s proposed “commercial core in the background. Picture: Wollongong City Council

The plan says an office precinct would be necessary in order to keep up with the region’s job growth, with the council aiming to create an extra 10,500 jobs in the CBD within the next 10 years.

McCabe Park is central to the plan, with the role of linking the railway to the foreshore.

The plans also include the creation of a precinct titled “Market Street West”, which would be “intended to support a boutique office character with smaller tenancies and shared working spaces well connected to Keira Street and the station”.

The new plans would protected the “historic spine” of the city. Picture: Wollongong City Council.

To invite developers to the region for these plans, the council proposes to make the city “more liveable” by establishing a “green and walkable city” that prioritises pedestrians. This proposal also includes a “cycle network” to create what’s been labelled a “city loop” from the train station to the proposed new precincts.

Lowden Square outside Wollongong Train Station has been proposed as the new “gateway to city”, framed by a newly developed Burelli Street, which would offer “A-grade” office blocks close to the station.

The document also outlines plans to strengthen the city’s heritage rules in order to protect the historic nature of parts of the CBD, while also introducing new height limits for development.

The document, which will set the vision of the city for the city for the years to come will be open for public exhibition if adopted at next week’s council meeting.