The 20-storey building which may be coming to Dumaresq St, Campbelltown

Situated at 6-12 Dumaresq St between the independent cinema and post office, the building would comprise of retail space on its ground floor, followed by 116 parking spaces on levels one to four.

An artist's impression of the high rise proposal.

A 20-storey high rise building will dominate the Campbelltown skyline if approved as part of the ongoing push to have the CBD transition to a high density area.

Situated at 6-12 Dumaresq St between the independent cinema and post office, the building would comprise of retail space on its ground floor, followed by 116 parking spaces on levels one to four.

Level five would be reserved for commercial space while levels six to 19 will hold 100 apartments comprising of four studios, 17 with one bedroom, 74 with two bedrooms and five with three.

The application, put forward by Michael Brown Planning Strategies, was placed on public exhibition today.

Because of the size of the proposal, it will not be decided by council. Instead, it will be judged by the Sydney South West Planning Panel where Campbelltown Liberal Councillor George Greiss and Labor Councillor Darcy Lound will be joined by two State Government representatives.

Campbelltown Mayor George Brticevic said although 20 storeys was more than he prefers, he thought proposals like this one would help revive the drab main street.

“I would prefer about 15 storeys although I can appreciate that water table issues have meant the plan cannot go underground for parking,” he said.

“With developments like this, the Queen St we see now will be nothing like the one we see in the future.”

Last year it was announced Campbelltown RSL was planning to move into Queen St and have its current site replaced with at least 250 apartments.

Near the CBD, a number of high rises have been built in King, Chamberlain, Warby and Tyler streets with several more to come.

On the Macarthur Chronicle Facebook page, while many residents responded positively to the plan, some felt high rise was causing Campbelltown to lose its “country feel”.

But Michael Brown said the area needed to move on.

“Campbelltown lost its country feel years ago. I’ve been through Campbelltown for a long time,” he said. “You’ve got to have progress, you can’t just stand back. The main street is dead and you don’t want that ... When businesses close down, people move away.”

Dumaresq St Cinema manager Stuart Lane said the business would work with the developer to ensure little disruption to his patrons.

“Given that that building has been unused for years, it’s certainly preferable to have something that will bring people to the area,” he said.

To see the complete proposal, visit Campbelltown Council.