The heritage Oatley Masonic Hall will be upgraded and extended to include a museum and a commercial tenancy under a development application lodged with Georges River Council.
The proposed works include refurbishment of the existing Masonic Hall, demolition of an addition at the rear and construction of a new extension and 90sqm commercial tenancy.
The addition will include a lounge area for the display of Lodge memorabilia.
The DA was lodged by Masonic Holdings Ltd and the works are valued at $800,000.
The commercial tenancy which will be retained in the ownership of the Lodge to provide a source of ongoing income to maintain the building.
The Oatley Masonic Lodge is listed as a heritage item under the Kogarah LEP 2012. It was built in 1922 with most of the work carried out by Lodge members on a voluntary basis.
According to the Statement of Environment Effects accompanying the DA, the proposal seeks to retain the majority of the existing building on the site including the front Lodge room, which is the element of greatest heritage significance both aesthetically and socially, and the adjacent hall to the rear.
"The front Lodge Room is visually prominent and its landscaped setting, with generous front and side setbacks, is proposed to be retained," the SEE stated.
"This existing building is significantly below the 12-metre height control for the site and the proposed replacement section of the building at the rear of the hall is equally low in height."
The new addition to the rear of the retained building will not compete with the significance of the retained heritage elements, according to the SEE.
"The proposal provides an economically viable avenue for the retention and refurbishment of an important local icon and community use on the site for the residents of Oatley," it concluded.
The Lodge has submitted two previous development applications for the site, the most recent in 2018 for a five-storey addition at the rear to house ten apartments.
