Ryan's IGA is planning to open a new store in the shopping centre on the former Ballarat Orphanage site, including a bottle shop, after the group's lease on its Bakery Hill location expires.

The development on the orphanage site at the corner of Victoria Street and Stawell Street will include a supermarket, three specialty shops, a childcare centre and 109 car parking space, along with 44 new homes.

The site has sat dormant for years, but it is believed the new shopping centre could be open by the end of the year after works started in early 2020.

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A planning permit application for a supermarket was lodged with the City of Ballarat in April 2018, which had the former orphanage building incorporated into the development.

In November that year, an application was also submitted for the childcare centre portion of the development. Plans for the centre included space for 84 children.

Ryan's IGA general manager Ben Ryan said he believed there was a valuable customer base in the city's eastern fringe.

"We think that area, Bakery Hill through to Ballarat East, is a really good area, customers have always been great, so we're keen to find an opportunity to keep serving them going forward for a number of years," he said.

"It's very important for us. Ballarat's home. We're Ballarat born and bred. Anything we can do to serve the community, we would always be keen."

The group will temporarily be without a Ballarat East location when its lease on the Bakery Hill bottle shop expires in late April.

That site is set to become a Liquorland, with the Coles Group recently submitting a planning permit to council to change the signage in the Bakery Hill shopping centre.

Mr Ryan said staff from the bottle shop would be redeployed to other supermarkets.

"Our lease at the premises finishes in late April and the landlord hasn't hasn't offered us a new lease, so we'll finish at the end of April at that site and redeploy our staff that are there to other supermarkets," he said.

"We'll be opening a new store at the Ballarat East complex when it opens later this year."

In a statement, a Coles Liquor spokesperson said: "We are constantly evaluating our store network to ensure we are delivering the best shopping experience for our customers. Ballarat customers have the option of finding great value and convenience at our Peel Street South and Stockland Wendouree Liquorland stores. We'll be sure to keep the Ballarat community informed on any future plans for Coles supermarket, Coles Express and Coles Liquor stores."

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