A “significant sized” car showroom is planned to built next to Bunnings on Invermay Road.
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Developer Errol Stewart plans to move his Kia and Volkswagen dealership to a new 300sqm site on Goderich Street.
A development application advertised last week proposed to move the Wellington Street JMC Trade Centre to the site, however Mr Stewart has changed the plans.
He says an updated development application will be lodged with the City of Launceston council this week.
“Now we’ve decided we’re going to take our Kia and our VW showroom to Goderich Street. We’ve acquired some land in Wellington Street and are potentially looking to expand [the Trade Centre] operation at its current site,” Mr Stewart said.
“The Trade Centre is going to stay where it is, potentially it will expand North. We want to leave the trade Centre in Wellington Street because we strategically see that as a really good car space and it has been for a decade or more.”
Mr Stewart said the “major car operation” is expected to cost between $5 million and $6 million.
A new DA has to be submitted because of the changes to the plans.
“Before we were only going to have a small building whereas now we’re going to have a significant sized building next to Fairbrother,” Mr Stewart said.
“The proposed use will be the same, but the DA changes because of the structure.”
Mr Stewart received the new renders for changed application on Friday.
“The [car] manufacturer is putting some pressure on me to have it done by the end of the year so that’s going to be the time frame,” he said.
“Hopefully we’ll get it going sooner rather than later. I’ve ordered 300 steel piles out of Queensland and they’re on the way.”
Changes are also being made to JMC’s Charles Street site.
“We’re demolishing that building, but the facade is heritage listed, so we cant touch that. We’re not touching any part of that for about three or four metres back,” Mr Stewart said.
“The building itself wasn’t at the right angle of the esplanade. It was an unusual angle ... We’re just trying to straighten it up so that it will intersect with our existing showroom.”
The rebuilt area will become the Isuzu showroom, with an undercover entry.
“It’s not a big development, it’s really a tidy up of what is existing now.”