City of Newcastle staff have endorsed the $20 million redevelopment of an inner-city parking station.
Newcastle businessman Darren Nicholson wants to build 60 serviced apartments on the front of a remodelled Civic West parking station in King Street and add another floor of parking and two levels of commercial space.
The redevelopment includes a child care centre on the ground floor and would increase the building's height from six to nine storeys.
Plans before the council's development applications committee on Tuesday night represent a scaling-back of an earlier proposal from Mr Nicholson to add four levels of parking, 111 serviced apartments and a rooftop restaurant to the building.
The proposal piggybacks on a 2013 approval for four extra levels of commercial space and a 2016 approval for five new levels of parking and a childcare centre.
The proposed building's floor-space ratio would be more than double that allowable under planning rules for the site, but one of the previously approved versions of the project had almost three times the amount of allowable floor space.
A report to go before Tuesday's meeting says the redevelopment will improve the parking garage's appearance and contribute to the revitalisation of Newcastle.
The child care centre would have 116 places and open from 6am to 7pm.
Mr Nicholson said in early 2018, shortly before lodging the latest DA, that he had shelved plans for more parking because the council and state government were heavily subsidising a park-and-ride bus service into the city.
Also on Tuesday night, the council's public voice committee will hear submissions on a planned 50-lot subdivision in Duncan Close, Elermore Vale, and a pet crematorium in Warabrook.
