The New South Wales Government has revealed a major deal has been struck to redevelop several blocks of land in Newcastle's CBD.
The deal, between government developer Landcom and landowner GPT, comes after GPT scrapped a $600 million plan to build a major retail centre in the city due to concern over the future of the inner city heavy rail line and inaction from the former ALP Government.
Landcom is to buy two-thirds of the current GPT holdings, with GPT retaining the other third. Landcom is planning to redevelop four city blocks into a mix of residential, niche commercial and specialty retail.
Details of the deal are likely to be made public this week. The deal is understood to have been struck after about seven months of negotiations.
Unfortunately, the government is still considering the future of the rail line as part of broader plans for the city centre, and no decision had yet been made.
A new dawn? Perhaps. It certainly has the hallmarks of an important step forward for the CBD that should serve as a catalyst for further investment.
