Five-storey, $8.4m apartment proposed for Golf Links Dr, Batemans Bay

A five-storey, $8.4m apartment complex has been proposed for a south coast town, leading to one resident to quip that the suburb was transforming into the nation’s capital.

The proposed development will be five-storeys and feature 20 units.

“We’re turning into Canberra 2.0” were the words of a Batemans Bay resident reacting to a proposal for a five-storey apartment complex proposed for his suburban street.

The south coast suburb could soon see yet another multistorey building, with the $8.4m proposal at 61 and 63 Golf Links Dr set to include 20 apartments if approved by Eurobodalla Council.

The owner of the site bought the land two years ago and has engaged development firm ‘Purdon Planning’ to manage the development, with hopes for construction early next year if the project receives the green light.

“These are not townhouse or affordable housing units, they are just normal apartments which will be on the market for anyone,” Purdon Planning head of development management Daniel Stewart said.

Mr Stewart said the apartments are expected to be sold at similar prices to other apartment complexes on the neighbouring Beach Rd.

Purdon Planning head of development Daniel Stewart said the architect designs were "brilliant".

“For example, we saw apartments in the recently built ‘Ohana’ complex sell anywhere from $400,000 to $1.2m,” he said.

The proposed building would only be the second large apartment building to be erected on Golf Links Dr, after a four-storey building was built four years ago.

Jeff Myers – who resides opposite the land proposed to be developed – said he wasn’t surprised to hear yet another apartment building would be constructed.

“I mean, we’re turning into Canberra 2.0, which is funny because I actually moved from Canberra because I didn’t want to live around high rises,” he said.

“But, there’s really no point in complaining, because it’s just the natural progression of growth in a town growing like this.”

While he said he would rather not see medium to high rises built, the town was “still pretty”.

An artist impression of the kitchens housed in the proposed development.

“It’s still the best town on the south coast in my opinion, so why wouldn’t people want to move here?”

Further down the street, Margaret Hughes said she wasn’t aware the development was even proposed.

“I don’t use the internet, so I didn’t know it was even happening,” she said. “It would be nice if developers would door knock the street to let people know that these sorts of buildings could be coming.”

While Ms Hughes was disappointed to see her street going up, she conceded it was only the town growing. “I suppose it was just a matter of time,” she said.

The Plans:

The proposed building fits with the current zoning for Beach Rd and Golf Links Dr, which allows buildings to stand up to at least 15m high.

With this development specifically, the building will sit at exactly 15m high, with the ground floor being for parking and the four stories above housing the 20 units.

The units in range from two-bedrooms to three-bedrooms and will each contain kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms and studies.

An artist impression of the proposed five-storey development.

Mr Stewart said the architects chose a brick and glass design to keep in line with the design of other developments in the area.

“It’s a really nice looking building,” he said. “The architects did a brilliant job.”

Mr Stewart said he was hopeful the plans will be approved by Eurobodalla Council by November, allowing demolition of the two unoccupied houses and construction of the building to begin by February.