Plans for $6.8m apartments at Chick’n Ranch in Minerva Rd, Newtown

A popular Newtown chicken shop could make way for a three-storey $6.8m apartment block, if plans before council are approved.

Proposed development on the corner of Autumn Street and Minerva Rd, Manifold Heights. Picture: Brad Fleet

A long-running Newtown chicken shop could be demolished to make way for 10 apartments and three commercial tenancies if $6.8m plans are green-lit by council.

Developers have submitted plans to the City of Greater Geelong to redevelop the site, at 149 Minerva Rd, currently occupied by fast-food outlet Chick’n Ranch.

Shops to the west of the site – tenanted by Santoro Shoe Repairs and Animal Deli – are not part of the proposed development.

The existing building, formerly a petrol station, would be demolished and replaced with a three-storey apartment building if plans are approved.

The ground floor of the development would include three shops accessible from Minerva Rd.

Each apartment would include two bedrooms and an open-plan living area with a kitchen, dining and living space.

Google streetview image of the Chick'n Ranch

They would each have an ensuite, separate bathroom, European laundry and a balcony off the living room.

“The building is designed with three shops and an entry foyer for the dwellings/apartments at ground level,” the plans state.

According to the proposal submitted by Geelong West planning company Evolve, 13 parking spaces would be available, including 10 allocated for residential use and one to be used as a loading bay.

Plans to redevelop the site at 149 Minerva Rd, Newtown.

The building would have an overall height of 13.84m to the top of the lift and stairwell area at rooftop level.

The site, near the intersection of Autumn St and Minerva Rd, is surrounded by residential houses and some commercial buildings.

The plans suggest the development would fit with council’s Increased Housing Diversity Areas plans to accommodate the region’s growing population.

“Suburban detached family homes make up 85 per cent of current

housing stock,” the plans state.

“Increasing the diversity of the city’s housing stock over time will help cater for the growing trend of smaller households, the need for affordable housing, ageing in place and low-maintenance housing, and strong demand for housing in high amenity locations.

“In order to meet these demands, there is a need to provide for a range of housing types in both established and developing communities.”

According to developers, the site once housed a service station and five underground storage tanks are still located on the site.

It’s understood there is no Environmental Audit Overlay at the site and it has not been identified on the EPA Priority Sites Register for known contaminated land sites.

The plans are open for public submissions, with no decision expected to be made until June 7

Originally published as Plans for $6.8m apartments at Chick’n Ranch in Minerva Rd, Newtown