A proposed $5.5 million redevelopment will see the Old Woollen Mills renovated and rebuilt alongside a new Officeworks outlet on the corner of Byng and William Street.

A two-storey office building will be constructed at the rear of the site, bordering the railway line, if a development application (DA) for the project is approved by Orange City Council next Monday.

The proposal will see the eastern section of the Old Woollen Mills building, housing The Mills Gourmet Takeaway, demolished while the remaining Byng Street facade will be given a facelift.

The takeaway will relocate to another tenancy on the site as part of the overhaul.

The building is not listed as a heritage structure in Orange’s Local Environment Plan but was identified as having heritage significance in a 1986 study.

The study noted eastern sections of the building, which will be demolished as part of the redevelopment proposal, are of heritage importance.

Council planners conceded the demolition was “disappointing” but necessary for the development to proceed.

Planners have also requested the proposed Officeworks building be painted in beige colours rather than the usual blue and red corporate colours and want an eight-metre pylon reduced to six metres.

A Target outlet is not included in the DA despite the retail chain expressing interest in establishing a store at the site.

Orange City Council knocked back a proposal to rezone the land for a Target outlet earlier this year on planning grounds.