A new plan has emerged for Darwin’s Mitchell St Chinatown site

A new development plan has emerged that could finally fill one of Darwin’s biggest holes. See what will go in the empty CBD site.

Another day, another development application to fill the gaping hole at Darwin’s old Chinatown site.

Olive Cook Pty Ltd has lodged a plan to build a 14-storey commercial tower with three levels of basement parking at 68 Mitchell Street in Darwin’s CBD.

The 5630sqm site next door to the old BCC cinema has been obscured from view behind a high construction fence for the best part of 20 years since excavation work was done earlier this century for the ill-fated Chinatown project.

The block has frontage to Mitchell Street, Mott Court, Peel Street and Smith Street.

Olive Cook purchased the site last year for $3.75m after it had previously been valued about $20m.

New building planned for 68 Mitchell Street, Darwin's old Chinatown site

The proposal is for a 14-storey mixed use building with three-level basement carpark accessed from Mott Court with 147 car parking spaces and 18 motorcycle spaces.

The ground level includes a lobby, two commercial tenancies with active frontages and a plaza providing public pedestrian access from Mitchell Street through the site with public seating and landscaping.

The plaza links to a new paved pedestrian access to Peel Street at the rear of the building.

The Mezzanine level contains plant and switchboard rooms, a terrace, meeting rooms and a wellness studio for building employees on one side of the public plaza and a third commercial tenancy opposite that.

A glass awning along the Mitchell Street and Mott Court frontages will converge on either side of the public plaza and planter boxes and vertical landscaping will be located above the awning.

A vertical garden is also planned for the roof area.

New building planned for 68 Mitchell Street, Darwin's old Chinatown site

Twelve storeys of office space rise above the mezzanine with a mostly glass facade and horizontal sunshades.

The application says the “interchangeable” uses and ground floor design will encourage “day and night activity”. It says the large public forecourt, plaza and ground level landscaping will enhance the streetscape and create “an attractive outdoor public space”.

The proposal includes the provision of a large forecourt and public plaza with pedestrian access through the site which could in future connect to Smith Street. The existing footpath along Mitchell Street will be retained and a new footpath along Mott Court will also be constructed.

The Chinatown plan was unveiled at a ceremony at City of Darwin’s chambers in 2001, presided over by then mayor George Brown and former chief executive Alan McGill.

Two inexperienced Darwin developers said at the time the project was delayed as they worked with Telstra to relocate the underground cables at the site.

The excavation site for the old Chinatown project on Mitchell and Peel Street, Darwin.

In 2006 they partnered with Sydney developer Robert Magid who, in turn, partnered with Halikos to build a multi-level carpark on the Smith Street side of block.

Including the latest proposal, since 2007 there have been seven development applications for the 68 Mitchell Street site.

It is hoped the application will be heard at the Development Consent Authority meeting on December 2.