GURNER™ has partnered with Geelong property identity Dean Montgomery to develop a prime 2,100sqm parcel of land 300 metres from the Geelong Waterfront, into a $300m mixed-use precinct.
The developer plans to transform the site, which houses a historic former wool store at 20 – 28 Brougham Street, Geelong, into a sustainable precinct with an activated ground plane, hotel and urban gardens, as well as residential apartments located on the upper levels.
The vision for the project includes the restoration of the heritage façade and the creation of a ground-floor food and beverage precinct linking the new council offices to the nearby university by foot, a 5-star hotel component and luxury residences in the upper levels, along with a carbon neutral target as part of GURNER™’s ambitious Greener by Gurner initiative.
This marks GURNER™’s first foray into the Geelong market, underpinning the developer’s expansion strategy in 2022 and beyond. The announcement comes off the back of the recent announcement from the City of Greater Geelong that GURNER™ and Montgomery are one of two partners shortlisted for the famous Osborne House redevelopment.
The woolsheds site currently has an existing permit for a 12-storey commercial building yielding approximately 26,000sqm of GFA. GURNER™ engaged Fender Katsalidis to realise the design vision for the site and will lodge an amendment to that permit in late 2022.
Tim Gurner says the building will celebrate the best of Geelong while bringing the future of city living to the fast-transforming location.
“We will be bringing an incredible 5-star hotel to this location, that will feature a retail and hospitality offering at the Ground Floor that will be reminiscent of Chelsea Market in New York.
“Sitting on top of the hotel will be a collection of large luxury owner-occupier residences for locals and downsizers. Geelong has always been Victoria’s quiet achiever, but now with the renewed regional push as many families consider regional locations, I believe Geelong’s market run hasn’t really even begun yet. Buyers are reassessing their lifestyle choices and are looking for affordable locations close to beaches with easy accessibility into the CBD, and Geelong ticks all those boxes and more.
“Regional tourism is set to flourish in the next few years, as holiday preferences change and regional destination such as Geelong continue to grow in popularity – the opening of new attractions, like the Spirit of Tasmania terminal in Geelong, will further drive this activity.
“The building will be fully carbon neutral and offer an environmental point of difference not seen in Australia to-date.
“This is one of the last remaining prime waterfront sites with north-facing water views so we are excited by the possibilities and what we can deliver to truly maximise this incredible location.
“We acquired the site with Dean with the intention to create a residential, commercial and hotel precinct and it is our intention to bring that to life, however if the planning changes make that difficult we will proceed with the existing office scheme,” he said.
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