For sale: Bullion St car park

The Bullion St car park in Umina is for sale.

Expressions of interest have been called for the 0.53 hectares of land between Bullion St and Alfred St.

Described by Wilsons Estate Agency at Woy Woy as: "A landmark opportunity in the Umina CBD", the land is zoned B2 for "mixed use" which means it can be developed for a mix of commercial and residential purposes under the 2014 Gosford Local Environment Plan.

Wilsons selling agent Mr Jim Martin said the council had the community's interests at heart by putting a "positive covenant" on the land to ensure that any new development included 160 public car spaces.

Mr Martin said the impetus behind council's decision to sell the land for development was coming from the NSW Government's vision for the Central Coast over the next 20 years.

"The NSW Department of Planning released a document about the rapid increase in population that is going to occur between Sydney and Newcastle over the next 20 years," Mr Martin said.

"It will be one of the most popular residential corridors in Australia where people will want to live and that will increase the region's population by 80,000 in two decades," he said.

According to Mr Martin, 40 per cent of those new residents will want to live on the Peninsula, in the area between Umina and Woy Woy.

That is one of the reasons why the Gosford Local Environment Plan of 2014 reviewed all zoning, including in town centres and CBDs, to allow mixed use.

In the town centres of Umina, Ettalong and Woy Woy, this could result in in-fill developments that included a ground floor of commercial and retail premises with up to five storeys of residential accommodation above, he said.

According to Mr Martin, the Bullion St car park is one of the only consolidated pieces of land in the Umina CBD that could accommodate a larger mixed-use development.

"When you look around the Umina CBD, just about all of the allotments are the regular 560 square metre blocks so you can't get the height to build anything lofty around that area," he said.

Even though the Bullion St land includes 10 individual titles, Mr Martin said the council's intention was to sell it as one parcel to accommodate a development with the potential to "revitalise the Umina CBD".

"Essentially the developer has the option of doing the whole of the car parking underground and then building three handsome towers on the site," he said.

"Or they may decide to put parking in one area and then build two mixed use towers towards the West St end of the land."

The closing date for expressions of interest is September 16, to give prospective purchasers the opportunity to view the land, work out affordability and work with planning consultants and council representatives to put a proposal forward.

Mr Martin said he was very optimistic about the current attitude of the new Central Coast Council.

"They are displaying a very futuristic attitude that is a 100 degree turn around on what we had five or 10 years ago.

"They are starting to speak the right language.

"The way the council is approaching the future is that we have got to move forward to mobilise all centres on the Peninsula.

"We can't be dogmatic and the council is wanting to see nice developments for the area," he said.

Website, 14 Jul 2016

Realcommercial.com.au

Interview, 19 Jul 2016

Jim martin, Wilsons Real Estate Woy Woy

Reporter: Jackie Pearson