Launceston businessman Errol Stewart and ARTAS Architects principal Scott Curran have bought the historic C.H. Smith site from Geelong property group Brile for an undisclosed amount.
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Mr Stewart said designs for a new development would be shown to the City of Launceston and the Tasmanian Heritage Council on November 21.
Contractors are on site after a request from the council to make the area safer, and the work includes the stabilisation of a wall with fabricated steel, new fences and a general tidy up.
“We’re going to fix a few things that are damaged but the long-term plan is to fix all the existing buildings and do a really nice development there,” Mr Stewart said.
He said the project would not be a retail precinct or a library, but exact details were not ready to be made public.
“It needs rejuvenating, it’s close to the city, it’s a good site … obviously we’ve got a bucket of work and it needs to be a sustainable development,” he said.
“It’s important that what we do fits with the landscape and fits with the existing buildings and we think we can achieve an outcome.”
He said costs for the development could vary from $10 million to $30 million, but an exact number had yet to be decided.
The complex holds almost two centuries of Launceston’s history dating back to the early 1800s, but has sat vacant for more than 20 years.
The Launceston City Council has approved multiple applications for the site, including one put forward by former owners Brile to create a retail hub.
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Holly Monery
Holly Monery is a journalist for The Examiner newspaper, based in Launceston, Tasmania. Her main area of focus is local government.
Holly Monery is a journalist for The Examiner newspaper, based in Launceston, Tasmania. Her main area of focus is local government.
