.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Launceston's Cimitiere Street could be getting a multi-million-dollar redevelopment championed by Tasmanian insurer St.LukesHealth.
The $27 million build has been designed in partnership with architectural firm Terroir and project management group Commercial Project Delivery, and plans include a café and a large open space on the ground floor for events, meetings or artistic displays, with the rest of the space comprising offices.
Early designs show the seven-storey development would be slightly taller than the nearby Verge Hotel and lower than the approved 44-metre high Fragrance hotel across the street.
The building will predominantly feature timber, as part of a "biophilic" approach, which foregrounds the connection between man-made and natural environments.
St.LukesHealth chief executive Paul Lupo said the decision to use timber was due to its natural, renewable and recyclable nature, as well as its added benefit of speeding up the building process.
Ambitiously, the new build is targeting a zero carbon footprint by incorporating offsetting practices and factoring in the sequestered carbon in the timer that is used.
"The proposed architecture will be contemporary and has synergies with the industrial structures of the area," Mr Lupo said.
"We see this as an exciting opportunity to gift this former industrial area with new life.
"The proposed architecture will be contemporary and has synergies with the industrial structures of the area, which once housed warehouses to support the export trade from the Northern Pastoral Industry."
READ MORE: South of Tasmania in snap lockdown from 6pm
Plans for the property are currently being considered by the City of Launceston, but construction - which is being handled by Fairbrother - is expected to kick off in December.
The major development planned for the heart of the city would see the merging of St.LukesHealth's four Launceston offices.
The company has been operating in the state since the 1950s, and its chief executive Paul Lupo said having staff and operations spread out across Launceston was causing "additional costs and operations inefficiencies".
He said this was the major motivation for establishing a new central hub for staff.
"This build will provide a fit-for-purpose modern head office that will bring all our employees together and provide a more efficient and collaborative workplace for them," Mr Lupo said.
It's not just staff who are looking to benefit though, according to the director of Commercial Project Delivery Sam Tucker, who believes the community was at the forefront of the design.
"St.Lukes' have a strong desire to make sure a lot of the building is available for use by the public," he said.
"There was a lot in the brief that talks about giving areas back to the public and making sure that there is a real public connectivity to the building. It's a brief I don't usually see given and - in years to come - I think St.LukesHealth is going to be really proud of what the building stands for," he said.
Meanwhile the much-loved Bread + Butter café and bakery, which is housed in the current structure, will remain open, but at a different location.
The couple at the helm, Rob and Olivia Morrison, have leased a heritage-listed property on Elizabeth Street right across from Prince's Square.
"It was just luck that we found a heritage-listed building that's empty and can fit our needs," Mr Morrison said. Once construction is complete, Bread + Butter will move back into a fresh redesign, but one that Mrs Morrison believes will retain the industrial look Bread and Butter patrons are used to.
"It's a unique warehouse building, and we need to reflect that in the new design."
The development is expected to be seven storeys high, and if all goes to plan, completed by December 2022.
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
Joshua Peach
Got a story tip? Email me on joshua.peach@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Got a story tip? Email me on joshua.peach@austcommunitymedia.com.au
