Luxury apartments set for Mollymook as Peniche development gets council approval

The Shoalhaven City Council's approval on March 13 came nearly one year after plans were first submitted and followed almost 100 submissions from the public.

The approval paves the way for eight, three-bedroom apartments to be built at 1 Buchan Street, with underground parking, a shared pool and views to the ocean and Mollymook golf course.

Prices of the apartments start at $1.75 million.

Developer Chris Beasley said the complex, known as Peniche Apartments, is targeted at local residents, as well as sea-changers from Canberra and Sydney who were looking to downsize.

The inclusion of an internal lift would fill a gap in the market, Mr Beasley said, for over 60-year-olds with a desire to age in place.

"We believe that this sort of project doesn't actually exist down here right now," he said.

"There actually isn't an option for those older people to be able to remain in place for life."

The luxury development will replace a vacant property currently on the block, located just off the Princes Highway. The developer paid $1.3 million for the site in November 2022, CoreLogic records show.

Local residents and neighbours expressed strong opposition to the initial development plans, citing the building's height and scale among their concerns.

One neighbour described the proposed building as having a "looming and intimidating presence" and said it would block sunlight from entering their block.

The Ulladulla and Districts Community Forum made several submissions to the council. Storm water management, overshadowing and a lack of affordable housing were some of the forum's concerns.

Many of the nearly 100 submissions commented on the building's height which was originally proposed to be 13.7 metres tall in one section, exceeding the area's height limit of 11 metres.

The plans were subsequently amended to reduce the overall height. Mr Beasley said the only part of the building that will now exceed the height limit is the lift overrun, measuring 11.3 metres tall.

Mr Beasley said more decorative "fins" were added to the building facade to overcome privacy and overlooking concerns raised by neighbours.

Acknowledging the trepidation from some residents, Mr Beasley said he hoped the community was "coming around" to the plans.

He said while the development would not offer affordable housing, it would provide greater housing choice for the area.

"We're taking a knock-down house where no one lives and trying to put an apartment complex there that up to 20 people can live in," he said.

Sustainable features have also been included in the plans, including solar panels with battery storage in the basement, while rainwater will be used to irrigate the gardens and refill the pool.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023, sales pending, for completion slated for September 2024.

Mr Beasley is also among the owners of the Edgewater Motel, located in nearby Burrill Lake.

The group had previously planned to develop the block into a new hotel with dining and accommodation but are now looking to sell the site.

"We had a Canberra-based hotel group who were going to take it off our hands and run it," he said.

"That fell through over COVID, so we got the [development approval] and at the moment we're looking to sell it to the right hotel group to build and run themselves."

The property is currently listed with a $3 million price guide.

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