Facelift for Wollongong CBD

Facelift for Wollongong CBDUnprecedented investment in the Wollongong CBD is steering the city towards a new era as buildings in the City Centre receive a facelift.With over $1 billion in new investment taking place in the CBD, some of the older buildings along Crown Street were in need of improvement to keep pace with new developments and restore the local heritage significance of the area. To assist this transformation the Property Council of Australia led a Wollongong Pride Campaign encouraging property and business owners to participate in the rejuvenation of the City Centre by investing in their own asset and making the most of incentive programs. The Pride Campaign, which is now complete, saw a series of targeted meetings with around property owners, media coverage and events to highlight the returns from asset investment for property owners. The campaign has helped spur on private property owners to make upgrades to their building facades. The Pride Campaign worked alongside Wollongong City Council’s facade Rejuvenation Program which will see around 40 buildings along Crown Street and the inner city area complete work on new-look shop fronts in the next month. The Program, launched in 2013, offered business owners and operators a dollar-for-dollar financial incentive to restore or repaint their facades and improve disability access. Of the 40 buildings to receive upgrades, seven of those have been heritage buildings, helping to restore the 1920’s history of the area. All up, the scheme has seen a total of $1.5 million invested in improvements to the City Centre with $900,000 from private investment and $600,000 from Council. The Illawarra Chapter of the Property Council of Australia is continuing to focus on the CBD revitalisation with plans to look at the West Crown Street precinct as the missing link between the City Centre improvements and the multimillion-dollar upgrades to the Hospital precinct.