One of the biggest players in the Hunter's development industry has lodged plans for fast food restaurants, prestige car showrooms, a service station and trade retailers on the site of a former fuel depot at Tighes Hill.
Stevens Group has a contract to buy the 3.6-hectare site on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Industrial Drive from Mobil, pending development approval.
The Central Coast firm submitted plans to City of Newcastle in August for a $3.8 million BP service station on part of the land and has now lodged an $18.5 million development application for two fast food restaurants, two car showrooms and two building supplies outlets.
Stevens project group director Brett Harrod said the level of interest in the project from the commercial sector suggested the Hunter economy was in a healthy state.
"We've had 13 expressions of interest for the trade-based retail. All in all it's a pretty solid response," he said.
"What it's saying to me is that Newcastle and the Hunter are still very buoyant, and they're expecting that buoyancy to last for some time.
"If you look through the region, there's a lot going on."
He said the board of a national food brand had granted approval to fill one of the restaurants.
"We're just working on another one. National users, all the usual suspects, Mexican, chicken, burgers."
Stevens Group is the company behind Hunter Business Park at Black Hill, the Vintage housing subdivision in the vineyards, Toronto's Foreshore redevelopment and a host of other commercial and residential projects in regional NSW,
Mr Harrod said the company hoped to start work this year on the 200-lot Hunter Business Park.
