Goulburn and region lures ventures seeking land

A whiskey distillery, a new aged care facility and an industrial premises looking to establish at north Goulburn are just some of the ventures in the offing.

Councillors were updated on progress at their meeting on Tuesday.

Developer of the Marian College site in Clinton Street, Nicolas Daoud, has partnered with Quest Apartments for the project. It includes 63 serviced apartments of varying sizes across five storeys, a reception area with business lounge, among other aspects.

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The apartments, valued at $20 million, are due to open in November. It is just one part of a wider development on the site, which has drawn controversy due to the siting of the apartment block close to a historic convent.

Elsewhere, Advanced Precast, which has offices in NSW, the ACT and Queensland, wants to establish a premises at Common Street, North Goulburn. The company manufactures pre-cast building structures.

Business development manager Jackson Reardon said the outfit had owned land at Common Street for some time.

"They've been drawn by Goulburn's location. They would mainly service Sydney so the area works perfectly for them due to the northbound access," he said.

It hopes to employ 30 to 40 people.

But the project is reliant on the land's rezoning to industrial. The council last year won $7 million in State funding to rezone the area and build infrastructure for an industrial precinct. This would include intersection improvements at Sydney Road, for which a design brief is underway.

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The planned Woodlands Ridge Poultry Processing Plant, pegged for nearby land, is also reliant on the land's rezoning. The $70 million to $90m project expects to employ up to 150 people.

Meantime, the backers of a whiskey distillery have switched their attention from a possible site close to Goulburn's CBD to the Marulan area. Mr Reardon said the Sydney-based interest had also considered the council's land in Dossie Street but it was "not the ideal location."

"(They're) considering putting an offer on a greenfield site near Marulan," he said.

The party met with council planners in August to discuss the land's constraints and state agency input.

On another front, Signature Care has chosen a preferred site at Run-O-Waters for its proposed $30 million 144-bed aged care facility. Earlier this year the company secured federal funding for the beds. The venture is expected to employ 170 people.

Also at South Goulburn, Coles' announcement that it will close its Distribution Centre is opening up new possibilities.

The large Lillkar Road facility is being marketed with another distribution centre in Warwick, Qld, but can be purchased separately, the council says.

Mr Reardon said the council was in regular contact with the agents.

"They feel there is reasonably strong interest, which bodes well for the region," he said.

"It's being marketed as the largest such facility (about 40,000 square metres) between Melbourne and Sydney."

He told the most recent council meeting that interested purchasers believed they could acquire the space at a reasonable price, which augered well for finding another tenant for the site.

The council is also still in talks with the National Archives about its interest in shifting part of its record and information storage to the building.

Coles previously said it would close the DC by 2023 when two new automated centres were built. It will leave up to 250 people out of work.

Mr Reardon said a recent meeting with the Department of Premier and Cabinet revealed that state and federal agencies could provide retraining, support for small business, job seeking help, retirement advice and government assistance.

"This person is now liaising directly with the Coles DC manager," he wrote in his report.

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