Newcastle council has authorised chief executive Jeremy Bath to talk to a developer about demolishing the Mall Car Park and replacing it with apartments and the revived "Spanish Steps" plan.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that the council had revived a 14-year-old plan to demolish the car park to make way for a wide staircase linking the harbour with Christ Church Cathedral.
The council has held preliminary discussions with Iris Capital, the company building the EastEnd residential complex, about incorporating the stairs and public parking into its redevelopment in return for the opportunity to build on the car park site.
On Tuesday night, the council formally authorised Mr Bath to examine the feasibility of the project, also nicknamed the Stairway to Heaven, with Iris Capital.
The council resolution included a guarantee that none of the 380 public parking spaces would be lost.
"The long-conceptualised Stairway to Heaven has had the strong endorsement of some of the city's leading architectural and urban policy minds for decades," lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes told the Newcastle Herald.
"I'm pleased to give that commitment to the local Newcastle East residents and businesses that the city guarantees the retention of existing public car parking space numbers and the Newcastle Senior Citizens Centre in any new development of this crucial site in the city."
Cr Carol Duncan told the meeting that Iris had delivered an "incredibly high standard" of work so far in its Mall redevelopment with "innovative architecture" respectful of the city's heritage.
Independent councillor John Church said the staircase was a "great idea" but suggested the council should go to tender on the project so the community was reassured it had received the best value.
The council plans to lodge a development application soon to demolish the seven-storey parking station.
Iris would need to revise its approved state government concept plan, which includes apartments where the stairway would start in the Mall.
Iris' Mall redevelopment site starts in Perkins Street and spans four blocks to Newcomen Street, surrounding the car park on three sides.
The stairway, first envisioned by EJE Architecture's Barney Collins in 2006, includes a pedestrian bridge over King Street to the grounds of Cathedral Park, which is in line for $3.8 million in refurbishment and upgrades in 2021-22 under the council's developer contributions plan.
The council closed the parking station in April due to what it termed a "potential" structural problem.
Mr Bath said in September that he was awaiting a second cost estimate on repairs before briefing councillors on the car park's future.