KFC rezone ahead of land sale

THE City of Greater Geelong is proposing a rezone of a Princes Highway property ahead of a planned sale to boost its infrastructure renewal spend.

The city would rezone part of 190-216 Princes Highway, Corio – land presently used as a KFC restaurant – to commercial land.

The site is now zoned for public park and recreation use alongside the adjacent Stead Park precinct, but council officers have assessed it as surplus to that requirement and intend to sell the land.

The amendment would also subdivide the subject site to recognise drainage easements and apply transport overlays relating to the highway.

The fried chicken specialist has a lease to remain at the site until at least 2023 after first opening its site in the 1980s.

The amendment is open for public comment until February 20.

The city is planning to sell the land as part of a revenue-raising project from offloading surplus sites it owns across the municipality, which it announced as a budget measure last year.

In August, councillors agreed to proceed with the rezone ahead of the sale, and moved that proceeds go to the city’s Open Space Reserve Fund to pay for future purchases and upgrades with priority given to Stead Park.

Corio KFC is one of four properties the city has resolved to sell to boost its public coffers.

Its Civic Car Park at Gheringhap Street sold for $22.6 million in December, while its Busport car park at Brougham Street and a maternal health and tenpin bowling property at Reynolds Road, Belmont are also due to go under the hammer later this year.

The sales are expected to raise about $50 million in total and would primarily go towards renewing the city’s portfolio of infrastructure, including public buildings, recreation facilities and services such as drainage.