Upscale living plan stacks up
by: Giuseppe Tauriello From: The Advertiser May 04, 2012 11:00pm
An artist's impression of the Light Square development.
A UNIQUE car stacker is the centrepiece of a $25 million apartment development proposed for Light Square.
The 15-storey, 54m-high building would comprise 60 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, designed behind the facade of the State Heritage-listed City Mission Hall.
As well as the facade, wooden trusses in the building would be retained, under which a gym and cafe are planned.
Hames Sharley principal Damien Ellis said about $1 million would be added to the cost of the development to support the heritage features of the property.
"We're looking to retain the prominence of the heritage building," he said.
"It's an architectural challenge - but it also offers an opportunity to improve the existing built form."
The project, on the site of the former Rise and Regines nightclubs, would include the city's first fully-automated car-stacking system, designed to support 41 cars across six levels.
Nick Dean, director of developer Diadem Corporation, explained that the stacker would have a maximum wait time of three minutes.
"You can push a button in your apartment and your car will be ready for you when you get down to the ground," he said.
Mr Dean said the project would target the "higher-end, sophisticated market", setting itself apart from a number of other high-rise apartment projects currently on the market.
"The only way you can reach the required level of pre-sales is to go that extra step and meet what the market wants," he said.
Plans for the project were resubmitted to council yesterday, after the site's height limit was raised from 12 to 15 storeys as a result of a State Government amendment to the city's Development Plan.