A Newcastle developer has revived plans for a massive $90 million seniors living complex at Wallsend.
Charlestown company SNL has lodged a development application with City of Newcastle for six multi-storey buildings comprising 237 apartments, a 106-place childcare centre, gym, cinema, cafe, library and hairdresser off Victory Parade next to Brickworks Park.
The developer won approval in 2016 for 13 residential buildings up to five storeys high on the site.
SNL lodged revised plans in 2019 for a seniors village, tennis court, bowling green and swimming pool on the land but withdrew the application in late 2020 after the council objected to elements of the design.
The company has now revived these plans, saying it has addressed the council's concerns over the proposal's height, scale, density and impact on the adjoining park.
The development application says the seniors complex will be 19.58 metres at its tallest point, almost double the 10-metre height limit for the site.
Property records show a company associated with SNL director Simon Livingstone bought two adjoining sites next to Brickworks Park in 2014.
The development site is on 28,000 square metres of land south of Newcastle Road and 500 metres west of the Jesmond roundabout.
The development application says the revised development will address a need for seniors housing and childcare services in Newcastle.
"The site is considered ideal for this type of development as it has excellent access to existing services and facilities and transport infrastructure," the application says.
An SNL spokesman told the Newcastle Herald in 2016 that the site was a rare opportunity for large-scale in-fill residential development.
"It's a pretty cracking site in terms of the amenity that it's afforded," the spokesman said.
"It's got all of that Brickworks Park public open space on that southern boundary. You've got Ausgrid next door ... and the light industrial fronting Newcastle Road.
"It's not constrained by immediately adjoining any other residential development.
"When you have a look at the site, if you tried to put that built form into a site that was in a more suburban setting with traditional housing on either side, you might run into a few issues."
