A six-storey hotel proposed for Doveton Street has been given another chance with a brand new design hoped to see it approved by council.
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The proposed 94-room hotel at 107 Doveton Street South was first mooted more than 12 months ago, but a decision on the planning permit application was deferred at a council meeting in April following a council officer recommendation.
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The original proposal submitted to council in September 2020 included plans for a modern design for the hotel, which would also house a licenced cafe and restaurant, with council officers recommending the application be denied ahead of the April meeting.
The matter was later deferred after amended plans were submitted just days before the meeting, with council officers recommending the deferral to better assess the amended plans.
Issues council officers found with the original plans include negative impact on future development of the area and truck access.
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The original design was a modern building with black cladding and extruding windows, while the new design is more complementary to the heritage of the area and includes brick walls and arch-shaped windows on the upper levels.
The land is currently a sealed car park and sits between the UFS Respiratory Clinic on the corner of Dana Street and a Telstra business centre.
The restaurant and cafe is being proposed for the ground floor, with retail and office premises alongside it while the accommodation would take up the upper five floors.
The application is also requesting a reduction in the required number of car parks, with just 12 proposed to be built on-site. However, the applicant has entered into a lease agreement for additional parking spaces in the nearby Central Square Shopping Centre car park.
The planning report was prepared by Ballarat-based Beveridge Williams for the applicant Ballarat Investments Group.
Beveridge Williams principal town planner Tim Stevens said the redesign came after working with council on a design that included heritage elements of the neighbouring area.
"We came back with the addition of more brick to the facade of the building. The rest of the design obviously didn't change greatly, the biggest changes to the footprint were really to make it more equitable for neighbouring development on the north and the south," he said.
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"That's just so that a building of this height allows equitable development for neighbouring property in the future, that we don't just have walls right up to the site boundaries."
Mr Stevens said one of the goals of the project was to create a landmark building.
"There was always something that had to be a very kind of keystone facet to the building, something that really caught the eye.
"This design now, as well, still aims to do that and have something that really stands out as a landmark site, has materials that still kind of blend in, but then there are other things that kind of accentuate the modern era of the building. You can see that on the upper levels and with the choice of bluestone on the lower levels and some modern brass treatments and things like that."
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