The former Williamstown Chronicle building will get a modern makeover after a three-storey development was approved last week by Hobson Bay council.
A special planning committee of council approved plans for a shop and two dwellings at 6-8 Parker Street, but included a condition that the old newspaper office’s facade be restored.
The building at 8 Parker Street was built in 1890, and has local heritage significance as one of Victoria’s first newsrooms outside Melbourne town centre.
Williamstown historian Brian Haynes said, while he had concerns about the new development, he was pleased the late Victorian facade would be retained.
“The date, 1854, on the facade relates to when John Bennett Stephens started a local printing business and soon after started Williamstown’s first newspaper, the Trade Circular, which changed its name to the Williamstown Chronicle,” he said.
“This site was the final site for the Williamstown Chronicle that ceased operation circa 1964.”
There were 11 objections submitted to the council about the redevelopment proposal, with residents expressing concerns about the height of the new building, the loss of heritage values, and car parking congestion.
A special planning committee of council approved the permit on the condition that the rooftop terrace be deleted, or totally concealed.
Also, the building’s facade must be restored under the supervision of a suitably qualified heritage architect.
A council officer’s report said while there was no onsite parking for the commercial part of the development, this had always been the case with this site.
