TasTAFE Launceston redevelopment: Andrew McCullagh ‘fuming’ over council decision
The colourful developer set to transform a historic TasTAFE site into a mixed-use precinct featuring a hotel, apartments, bars and restaurants, says he’s been penalised for “common sense”.
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The colourful developer set to transform a historic TasTAFE site into a mixed-use precinct featuring a hotel, apartments, bars and restaurants, says he’s been penalised for “common sense” after the City of Launceston declined his request for a $34,405 sweetener.
Last year the Mercury revealed that Red Panda Property Group managing director Andrew McCullagh, who is also on the Northern Midlands Council, had purchased Launceston’s old TasTAFE campus, located at 10–16 Wellington St, for about $6.35m.
He said the campus would be redeveloped into what would be known as the reUNION District, containing a five-star, 139-room hotel (down from 160 originally), 13 boutique private apartments (one fewer than first planned), a brewery, distillery, wine bar, and an array of restaurants and cafes.
The project, originally forecast to cost $50m but now more likely to come in at $65–$70m, has incurred steady delays, with Mr McCullagh frequently voicing his belief that a formal development application was just weeks away.
Mr McCullagh now says the development application will be split into two parts.
The first, to be lodged in the “coming weeks, provided it’s not held up by council,” would be for the hospitality and apartment component, with the hotel to follow at a later date.
“It’s easier for everybody if I split it up, so if [the hotel] gets delayed, the town is still getting a new, vibrant centre anyway,” Mr McCullagh said.
He said the make-up of the current council made him “nervous” about the hotel’s prospects – it will feature a tower of approximately 25m, with Launceston particularly sensitive to taller developments.
Fragrance Group’s $50m, 44m hotel at the corner of Cimitiere and Tamar streets and JAC Group’s 39m Gorge Hotel on the corner of Paterson and Margaret streets have both been bogged down in appeals.
Susie Cai, the Golden Brumby restaurateur who led the fight against the Gorge Hotel proposal, was elected a councillor at last year’s local government elections.
Mr McCullagh applied for council to waive his second fee, so that he did not have to pay the $34,405 application fee twice, but was declined at an ordinary meeting on June 15.
“I’m fuming over that. I’m being penalised for using common sense,” Mr McCullagh said.
A council report presented to councillors acknowledged that Mr McCullagh’s concerns about how swiftly the hotel component is likely to proceed were valid, as it “is likely to attract some community concern, due to factors like building height”.
The report said council staff would have preferred a single DA to allow for the “project to be considered in its entirety,” but that Mr McCullagh had discretion to proceed with a split DA.
It was recommended to refuse Mr McCullagh’s request on the basis council ought not set a precedent.
“There is also concern that the waiving of fees for the second application may set a
precedent that encourages the splitting of development applications for future large-scale
developments which simply adds to the complexity and reduces the transparency of what
is being proposed for a particular site,” the report’s author said.
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