The master plan submitted to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment is for a staged project over more than 10 years comprising about seven buildings.

The university expects to submit a development application for stage one, a $25 million innovation hub, in the near future and start building next year. 

The university will provide $20 million for stage one and the state government $5 million via its Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund.

The building, which will be on the corner of Honeysuckle Drive and Worth Place, will house the Hunter Innovation Partnership’s Innovation Hub and the university’s School of Creative Industries. As reported in the Newcastle Herald last month, students will move into the first building in 2020.

Newcastle City Council’s development applications committee will assess a rezoning proposal for the rest of the university redevelopment site on Tuesday. The rezoning, if approved, will help pave the way for Honeysuckle Development Corporation to sell that remaining land to the university.

UON chief operating officer Nat McGregor said on Friday that the Honeysuckle development would build on the success of the university’s Hunter Street NeW Space building.

He said the university’s inner-city expansion would help attract foreign students who were drawn to the city’s beaches and an urban lifestyle.

HDC chief executive Michael Cassel said the DA was another indication that the state government’s plans for Newcastle were turning into bricks and mortar.  

“I want to reinforce that we’re no longer just talking about it; we’re building. We’re not just doing plans any more,” Mr Cassel said.

“People will look back and say this is where it all started to really change ... this is what will bring the life back to the city. This will end up with thousands of students wandering around here, eating lunches, studying and engaging with the community.

“This will be the nucleus that will create that job growth, which is the second phase of the revitalisation program.”

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