Planning documents before the City of Ballarat propose two apartments to be built behind existing commercial and office spaces at 602-604 Sturt Street.

The planning documents, put together by Aureous, described the property as a "noteworthy opportunity" for infill housing in "an important gateway to Ballarat along the Sturt Street Gardens".

The three-storey building will house two apartments - the first has three bedrooms and the second has two.

Apartment number two will have access to the outdoor living and rooftop terrace space.

Both properties have their own garage and storage spaces on the ground floor.

The proposal follows a string of inner-city living developments and demonstrates the changes Ballarat faces as the population continues to grow.

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Developers told The Courier in March infill projects in the CBD were vital to keep up with growth demands, while findings from Infrastructure Victoria demonstrate home-buyers would forgo space to be more centrally located, and more needed to be done to meet this demand.

There has been demand for projects like the Davey Street Nightingale apartments, and the first two releases sold for the seven-storey residential building at 4-6 Lyons Street North.

Smaller infill projects in the CBD and suburbs have passed by council's desk.

These projects include multiple Gregory Street applications in Lake Wendouree, Scott Parade in Brown Hill or Armstrong Street North in Ballarat North.

Planning documents for 602 said the designs were "respectful of existing heritage" and "[maintain] the heritage facades of Sturt Street".

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The site is approximately 625 square-metres and the planning documents state the residential part of the building is set back from the street "to give prominence to existing heritage buildings nearby".

"[This] supports prominence of heritage elements on Sturt and Lyons streets," the documents said.

Part of the back of the building will be removed to make way for the new residential development.

"The structures proposed to be demolished are secondary in prominence and are not contributory to the significance of the heritage place," the documents said.

"The proposal provides a well resolved architectural response to Sturt Street and Lyons Street that establishes improved street presence."

A planning application has already been approved to alter the building facade and remove the grey paint, the original bricks are a part of the new design concepts.

Apartment number one does not have enough parking spaces but planning documents argue this is acceptable because of the central CBD location.

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Typically three-bedroom homes need two parking spaces; apartment one only has one space.

An exception has been argued for because of the availability of on street parking and public transport.

The development will also add bike parking to the front of the property despite "the proposal not [triggering] the statutory requirement for bicycle spaces to be provided".

"The scheme will result in the more intensive use of a rear portion of land that has historically been underutilised and poorly presented and will provide a substantial net community benefit."

Planning documents are currently before the council.

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