Kogarah’s Bob Marley house may soon be no more.
For years a mural of the legendary Jamacian singer who died in 1981 has adorned the wall of the derelict building on the corner of Railway Parade and Gray Street, Kogarah.
Now it is expected to make way to a $18.3 million, 12-storey, 52-unit development at 172 - 174 Railway Parade as the area undergoes transition from industrial and commercial to high-density residential.
The 1097sqm site is at the corner of Railway Parade and Gray Street, at the western end of the Kogarah Town Centre, almost half-way between Kogarah and Carlton Railway stations and opposite the Illawarra rail line.
Currently the site is vacant other than for a dilapidated 1930s single-storey building located on the north-east corner of the site which carries the Bob Marley mural.
“The locality is presently undergoing a transition with a number of industrial and commercial buildings being demolished and replaced with substantial mixed commercial and residential buildings that reflect the intent of the recently revised planning controls and Kogarah’s status as a Strategic Centre,” the DA’s accompanying Statement of Environmental Effects states.
“Specifically, the redevelopment of Kogarah RSL to the west of the site involves a mixed development building consisting of two 12-storey buildings that includes 220 apartments.”
The proposed 12-storey tower on the corner of Railway Parade and Gray Street will have 11 floors of residential containing 52 apartments consisting of 10 one-bedroom, 39 two-bedroom and three three-bedroom apartments.
At 38.98-metres the proposed tower complies with the area’s 39-metre height limit.
The ground-floor will have 185sqm of commercial-retail space. There will be a three level basement car park containing 75 car spaces accessed from Gray Street.
As the proposed development involves substantial excavation within 25-metres of the rail corridor on the opposite side of Railway Parade, the agreement of Sydney Trains will be needed prior to any development consent being issued.
Remediation of asbestos impacted soil will be necessary to make the site suitable proposed mixed commercial and high-density redevelopment.
Immediately adjoining the southern boundary of the site is an existing electricity substation in Gray Street.
The developer approached Ausgrid with an offer to buy the substation but was told it is strategically important for supply to the general network in the area.
Although it is technically possible to relocate the substation, Ausgrid has not made a decision on whether it is for sale, according to documentation attached to the DA.
Ausgrid would consider selling the substation property on the understanding the developer would be responsible for meeting the costs with establishing a replacement substation.