Newcastle’s $100m West Village project given green light to proceed

The $100 million West Village development in central Newcastle has been given the green light to proceed, paving the way for developers Spotlight Property Group and St Hilliers to transform the CBD’s western precinct.

The mixed-use twin-tower development, located at 711 Hunter Street, will deliver 1,400sqm of ground-level space featuring podium levels of 16 retail and commercial tenancies, and multi-storey food and beverage outlets including an open-air bar.

The towers will include 257 apartments, comprising a mix of one- to four-bedroom layouts including a collection of penthouses, with the scale and design of project touted by the developers to deliver a landmark destination for Newcastle.

Designed by Plus Architecture, West Village has been described as a first of its kind for a private development in Newcastle with the project crafted to become a residential development that aims to ‘connect and inspire’ the local community with the inclusion of public art.

The development will feature a large public plaza fronting National Park Street and offer direct connections to both the Drill Hall Gallery and Birdwood Park that will drive community activity on the site.

“As Newcastle, like other regional hubs across Australia, expands at pace, it’s critical that new developments are designed with the long-term in mind, and consider the varying and changing needs of their users,” says Plus Architecture director and West Village project lead Rido Pin.

“Whilst our bespoke two-tower design seeks to break the mould, creating a landmark building that will transform the city’s skyline, much more than this, the broader development seeks to transform the lives of local people.

“Throughout the process, we have worked collaboratively with our clients, consultants and the community to design a rich and dynamic ground plane, which will be accompanied by a carefully sculpted building form - serving both the residents and the wider community.

Designing for Country principles have been adopted in the project’s architectural, urban and landscape design through engaging with local elders from the Awabakal people, facilitated by COLA Studio.

“Through our work with Plus Architecture, our development seeks to deliver a space that sparks awe and inspiration for all who visit and use the space,” says St Hilliers’ development manager Luke McNamara.

“By committing $1 million of public art we want to celebrate Newcastle’s thriving arts scene, as well create spaces that will serve and connect locals.

“As part of the development consent, all retail and food and beverage offerings have a pre-approval to operate, including the three-storey open-air operation.

“This pre-approval will go a long way to streamlining the process for future businesses seeking to be part of the precinct.”

Among the environmental initiatives proposed for West Village is the inclusion of 90MW of rooftop solar panels and a 300 electric-vehicle-ready car park with 300 bicycle parking spaces in both secure and public areas. The development will also feature end-of-trip facilities.

St Hilliers is a diversified development company with capabilities in greenfield and in-fill projects across residential, commercial and infrastructure developments.

Over the past two decades it has also undertaken contract work for the Department of Defence with a sewerage infrastructure project at the RAAF base at Amberley among its latest projects.

The company is also currently undertaking the Thornton Central project in North Penrith in partnership with First Point Projects. The transit-orientated residential and commercial precinct will comprise 553 apartments and 6,000sqm of retail when it is completed in 2028.