New townhouse development for prominent Warrnambool CBD site

The plans have been lodged with the city council and will feature four three-storey, four-bedroom townhouses facing Kepler Street and six more at the rear of the property.

They will appear two storey at street level but include an underground car park, a rumpus room or fourth bedroom and their own lifts.

The rear townhouses will be smaller but still three-storey with double garage and three bedrooms.

Bill Welsh, the spokesman for Criterion Vision Pty Ltd, said it was exciting to see something finally about to happen on the site that has sat vacant for so long.

The historic pub site has left an empty hole in the streetscape since being destroyed by fire in February 2010.

The damage caused by the blaze to the hotel - which was built in 1872 and closed its doors in January 2008 - meant the remains of the structure had to be pulled down in 2013 for safety reasons.

Mr Welsh said architect Mathew Morse had designed the new townhouses as a nod to the site's history with many of the features reflecting that of the distinctive curved front of the former Criterion Hotel.

"The development effectively combines 'old with the new' by including building design features which make reference to the history of the site," the planning application says.

Mr Welsh said they would like to start construction work on the townhouses as soon as possible, but realistically that would be early next year by the time the project had gone through all the planning processes.

"We're ready to push the button," he said.

Mr Welsh said the impact of COVID-19 had made the project daunting.

"Warrnambool is screaming out for the inner-city living and no one is doing it. We're taking a bit of a punt, there's no doubt," he said.

Mr Welsh said they would probably stage the building works and construct one townhouse at the front and rear as a spec-home to give potential buyers the opportunity to tweak the design of each townhouse.

While the apartments are designed to be used for residential dwellings, some may be used for short-stay accommodation such as the Airbnb market, the application to council says.

"The flexibility that these dwellings provide for within the market can be seen as a positive outcome for Warrnambool and accommodation, business and tourism opportunities," the application says.

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