The former Spotlight store in central Hobart will be demolished to make way for a 12-storey, Grade A office tower, under plans approved this month.

Plans for the building at 174-192 Liverpool Street in Hobart have been submitted by Techne Investe, which described the skyscraper as a “landmark addition to Hobart’s streetscape”.

Techne Invest is a joint venture between Techne Group and Invest Lease, founded by Matt O’Halloran, who oversaw a $1.6 billion senior loan portfolio at Merricks Capital and is a former head of growth at Quintessential.

The approved plans include the demolition of existing commercial buildings on the site, which previously housed a Spotlight retail store and, according to local media reports, also housed a branch of controversial megachurch Hillsong.

Gray Puksand’s plans include 15,100 sq m of Class A office space, social facilities, parking for 114 bicycles and 32 car parking spaces.

The plans were submitted to Hobart City Council earlier this year and were on display until July.

At a meeting last week, the City Council’s planning commission approved construction of the tower on July 31, a schedule that was so extensive it could make developers from other states jealous.

The project will create a new pedestrian link to Harrington Street, over the Hobart Rivulet, and a “pocket park” that will reference First Nations history.

The Techne design consists of two street-fronted podiums and a set-back tower that could accommodate a retail store as well as a small cafe at street level.

There will be green areas on the roofs of floors 3 and 4, and there are also plans to place a roofed structure with plants on the roof.

Acting Lord Mayor of Hobart, Dr Zelinda Sherlock, said the development represented a “significant investment” in the future of Hobart’s central business district.

“Not only will it provide us with much-needed office space, but it will also contribute to the economic revitalization and development of our city,” she said in a statement.

Hobart’s office market has performed “exceptionally well” over the past 12 months, the council said, maintaining the lowest vacancy rate in the central business district in the country for the fourth year running, at 2.8 per cent.