Gosford mayor, Cr Lawrie McKinna has reassured commuters and Gosford CBD workers that they will not be locked out of the Kibbleplex free parking as a result of the property’s sale and proposed redevelopment by Lederer Property.
Since Gosford Council acquired the Kibbleplex building in 2011, it has provided over 300 free parking spaces. That arrangement was officially due to end in February but Cr McKinna said Gosford Council had entered into an arrangement with the company that has acquired the site, Lederer Property, to continue to provide free public parking on a month-by-month basis.
Lederer Property’s general manager of property, Mr Marek Ristwej said he understood that Gosford Council had a solution in the pipeline to accommodate demand for parking in the CBD when Kibbleplex goes offline for redevelopment. “Lederer and council have entered into a commercial arrangement to see parking continue,” Lederer Property’s general manager of property, Mr Marek Ristwej said. In terms of the parking that will be provided as part of the redevelopment of the Kibbleplex site into a residential precinct, Mr Ristwej said: “Parking will be provided as required by various parking controls.” He said underground parking was the developer’s preferred option.
“We are taking something that has been very stagnant and what we will achieve is to really cement Gosford as the Central Coast’s capital city, no doubt that is what it is and it needs to be further elevated and recognised as such. Timing of the commencement of stage one of the project will be dependent on how the development application process progresses, given Lederer Property intend to lodge their stage one DA during the fi rst week of April. “Depending on how that process goes, we will make further announcements around dates,” he said.
Interview, Feb 24, 2016 Lawrie McKinna, Gosford Council Interview, Feb 24, 2016 Marek Ristwej, Lederer Property Jackie Pearson, journalist