Chatswood: Victoria Ave shops face demolition for new town centre retail complex
A row of shops in Chatswood would be turned into a new multimillion-dollar retail complex as part of new plans for a prominent site in the town centre.
North Shore
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A multimillion-dollar plan has been released to redevelop a prominent site in Chatswood’s town centre – after previous development attempts faced objections from Willoughby Council.
Six businesses at 272 Victoria Ave have been earmarked to be refurbished into a $4.2m commercial complex as part of a newly released development plan lodged to Willoughby Council.
The site is currently home to businesses including popular restaurant Little Sichuan Cuisine, vacuum cleaner store Godfreys and Laque Nail Bar.
Development plans show the new complex, located opposite Chatswood Chase, would involve turning the six tenancies into two larger retail spaces along with landscaping works along Victoria Ave.
The external design of the business would also be refurbished, which planning documents state would “revitalise” the street front.
The development comes after previous development plans for the site proposed to turn the site into five levels of retail and commercial space.
In 2021, another plan was lodged to turn the site into a 20-storey tower including 13 storeys of units.
But concerns over additional housing at the CBD site, rather than job creation, saw the proposal face objections from Willoughby Council.
The new plans state the “refurbishment works, particularly the replacement and realignment of the shopfront, will dramatically improve street level appeal and improve street level activation,” the plans stated.
“(It will also) facilitate an improved commercial offering to Victoria Ave and be a complementary and modern addition to the area in which it sits.”
The plans state the amalgamation of the existing six shops into two would create “larger and more functional spaces that meet a broader range of retail needs”.
Planning documents have not detailed whether existing businesses that lease the site would be offered tenancies in the redeveloped building.
The plans also include new landscaping works on the roof level of the building which planning documents said would promote sustainability and support biodiversity.
The proposal has been lodged to Willoughby Council and remains under assessment.
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