Kogarah is becoming the go-to suburb for new boarding house developments.
Georges River Council currently has three boarding house applications pending which, if approved, will bring 100 new boarding rooms into the suburb.
These will be in addition to a 44-room boarding house recently approved at 69 Gray Street, Kogarah.
One proposal is for the demolition of a cottage at 14 English Street, Kogarah and construction of a $5million, 40-room, seven-storey boarding house with basement parking for nine car spaces, eight bicycles and seven motorcycles.
The ground floor with include a manager’s room and a communal room and two courtyard areas.
Each level will house six boarding rooms ranging in size for 28sqm to 30.38sqm and will have kitchen facilities and a bathroom.
The site is zoned R3 Medium Density Residential under the Kogarah Local Environmental Plan.
The 638sqm site is located next to an electricity substation and on the edge of the 12-storey Kogarah RSL redevelopment and is 375 metres walking distance of Carlton Railway Station.
The proposal will bring social benefits to the locality through providing affordable accommodation, according to the accompanying Statement of Environmental Effects.
Submissions close July 6.
Another application is for a $3.27 million development for a four to five-storey, 16-room boarding house on a 278sqm site at the corner of Regent Street and Premier Street, in the Kogarah town centre, about 125m from the railway station and opposite Kogarah High School
The boarding house is permitted in the B4 Mixed Use zoning.
The application includes accommodation for an on-site manager. There will be three accessible rooms and a 75sqm commercial tenancy on the ground floor.
The 16 boarding rooms will have balconies facing Premier Street. Each room will have at least 18.2sqm of floor space and an additional space for a kitchenette and ensuite.
There will be a common room and communal open space at rooftop level.
Parking will include a car stacker for four cars, one accessible space and four motorcycle spaces.
A previous DA for the site was approved for three-storey building with four units was approved in 2012.
In 2017 the New City PLan (Amendment No 2) to the Kogarah Local Environmental Plan amended a number of controls which applied to the site including maximum height of buildings and floor space ratio controls.
“The proposal will provide for high quality affordable rental housing in an area which is well serviced by public transport and community facilities,” according to the accompanying Statement of Environmental Effects.
“The provision of this boarding house will allow future residents to reside in an area they would otherwise not be able to live in due to high rental cost of housing in the locality.
“The boarding house will lead to a more diverse community and provide a positive streetscape outcome, aligned with the desired future character of the locality.”
The council has also received an application for a proposed six-storey boarding house with 44 rooms at 3 Gray Street, Kogarah with a value of $3.677 million.
A maximum 68 people will reside in the premises including a boarding house manager.
There is a total of 20 boarding rooms for single lodgers, while 23 will be double lodger rooms.
There will be nine boarding rooms per level which will have Juliet balconies.
There will be a communal room with adjacent communal terrace.
The site is zoned R3 high density residential and is located about 100-metres from St George Hopsital and 450 metres from Kogarah railway station.
It located a short distance from the site of a proposed $18 million, 12-storey, 52-unit development at 172-174 Railway Parade, known as the Bob Marley house.
An application for a five-storey, 43-room boarding house to be built at 69 Gray Street, Kogarah was recently approved by the Georges River Council Local Planning Panel.
The $4.3 million project will include accommodation for four single lodger rooms, 38 double lodger rooms plus a manager’s room, bringing the building’s total capacity to 77 residents.
There will be an outdoor communal terrace on level two and basement parking for ten cars and nine motorcycle spaces.
The 668sqm site is located on the corner of Gray Street and Princes Lane and is currently the site of a single-storey dwelling.
It also meets the requirements of the State Environmental Planning Policy for Affordable Rental Housing.
Council staff have recommended approval despite receiving 21 submissions raising a number of concerns.
These included traffic, noise and privacy impacts, overshadowing, building height non-compliance, and lack of required landscaping.
