Central Coast Quarter’s next stage has gone on public exhibition in Gosford, with the proponent seeking approval for a revised mixed-use scheme worth about $250 million. The application, lodged through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway, is accompanied by a concurrent amendment to the SEPP (Precincts – Regional) 2021 that would increase the site’s permitted height and floor space.
The proposal applies to the 5,788sqm Stage 2 site at 26–30 Mann Street and would replace the earlier concept for this part of the precinct with a denser mixed-use scheme.
What Stage 2 would deliver
Under the revised plans, Central Coast Quarter’s second stage would comprise two mixed-use towers of 36 and 42 storeys above a shared podium and pavilion building. The scheme would deliver 394 apartments, including 98 affordable dwellings, alongside a 152-key hotel, 2,153sqm of retail floor space and five basement parking levels with 473 spaces.
The residential component would be split between 296 market apartments and 98 affordable homes. According to the planning report, the affordable housing would account for about 20 per cent of residential gross floor area and would be managed by a community housing provider for 15 years. The hotel would sit within the eastern tower, while the southern tower would be residential.
Beyond the built form, the proposal also includes communal open space, deep soil planting, a publicly accessible ground plane and retention of the existing Port Jackson Fig at the Mann Street and Vaughan Avenue corner. The podium and surrounding public domain are intended to improve pedestrian links through the site, while also integrating retail and food-and-beverage uses at street level.
Long-running project enters new planning phase
The site has a long planning history. It was formerly Gosford Public School until the school was demolished and relocated in 2015. The broader Central Coast Quarter project was later sold to St Hilliers, and the Independent Planning Commission granted concept approval in August 2020 for a podium-and-three-tower mixed-use scheme. Detailed consent for Stage 1, known as the Northern Tower, followed in March 2022. That tower includes 136 apartments and ground-floor retail, and the report says it received an Occupation Certificate in December 2025.
A design excellence competition for Stages 2 and 3 took place in August 2022, with DKO and Furtado Sullivan selected as the winning team. Urban Property Group acquired the site in May 2024 and then progressed an alternative scheme with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, the City of Gosford Design Advisory Panel and Central Coast Council. The project was later declared state significant development under the Housing Delivery Authority pathway in June 2025, with SEARs issued in August 2025.
Public domain and connectivity central to proposal
The revised scheme places significant emphasis on the ground plane and public realm. It includes through-site pedestrian links connecting Mann Street, Vaughan Avenue and Baker Street, using stairs, ramps and walkways to manage the site’s level changes. Along Baker Street, the proposal includes stepped seating, planting and areas for outdoor dining tied to the retail frontage. It also proposes a plaza on Vaughan Avenue with seating, shade and views to the retained fig tree.
The planning report says the public domain strategy has been shaped through design review and specialist input. It also states the scheme would provide about 2,450sqm of publicly accessible open space, or about 42 per cent of the site area, as privately owned public space. In addition, the landscape design includes feature lighting, wayfinding, public art and passive surveillance measures intended to improve safety and legibility across the site.
Existing approvals to be reworked
The application is not simply a new stage within the existing framework. Instead, it proposes to supersede key parts of the earlier approval pathway. The report says the previous concept approval could be surrendered if this application is approved. It also says the through-site link currently tied to the Northern Tower consent would be transferred into this application so it can be coordinated with the revised podium and public domain design.
The planning pathway is further complicated by early works already approved for Stage 2. DPHI granted consent for bulk earthworks and stabilisation works in July 2025. However, the report says the basement footprint has since been enlarged and a modification application was under assessment at the time of writing.
Exhibition now underway
The proposal is now on public exhibition and will be assessed by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Key issues are likely to include the scale of the uplift sought, the delivery and management of affordable housing, and how the revised public domain works integrate with the wider city centre and waterfront.
Project Team
- Developer: Urban Property Group (UPG Waterfront Pty Ltd)
- Planning: Urbis
- Architecture / Urban Design: DKO Architecture, Furtado Sullivan
- Landscape Architecture: Arcadia
- Arboriculture: Urban Forestry Australia
- Heritage: Edwards Heritage Consultants
- Acoustics: Acoustic Logic
- ESD / Sustainability: SLR Consulting
- Utilities / Servicing: Integrated Group Services (IGS)
- Aviation: AviPro
- Stormwater / Water Cycle: BG&E
For more information, search the application number (SSD-90960208) on the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s website.
