A Sydney developer has taken Newcastle council to court over its refusal of a $20 million apartment building in Darby Street.
Hotelier John Markovic plans to build a bold six-storey, EJE Architecture-designed unit complex on the site of the former Roads and Traffic Authority building opposite Newcastle Art Gallery.
The council rejected the plans in December 2019 because they exceeded the site's height limit by 38 per cent.
Nearby residents complained that the proposed 54-unit building was an overdevelopment of the site and would have an impact on traffic, heritage values and views.
The matter is listed for a hearing in the Land and Environment Court on November 4.
The Newcastle Herald reported on Friday that Mr Markovic had lodged plans to spend $95,000 upgrading the office space in the existing building.
The Newcastle Herald understands he has found a commercial tenant for the offices.
If successful in the LEC, he will have five years to start work on the residential building.
Deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen said when the council blocked the project in December that the site should not be "quarantined" from development and he hoped to see another "iconic" plan "more compliant with the controls".
Mr Markovic paid $6.85 million for the land in 2017 and hopes to build 54 units and serviced apartments across two buildings, the most prominent of which features a web-like facade.
