That is the plan for the former St Catherine's Aged Care Facility site, which has sat vacant for seven years.

The site at 50 Busby Street, which spans more than 11,000 square metres, was sold by Catholic Healthcare in 2022.

Now, a development group familiar with the Central West, Kirana Property Group, has released its plans for the site.

It has described the proposal as a "transformative mixed-use development", which will provide new residential living opportunities for the Bathurst community.

Kirana founder and managing director Andrew Evetts, said the company wants to bring a novel approach to modern, sustainable living to Bathurst.

"Our goal is to offer an unmatched living experience that links the serenity of regional NSW with contemporary urban amenities," he said.

Kirana has provided a planning proposal to Bathurst Regional Council outlining what it wants to do on the site.

This follows a competitive design process, where three architects pitched master plans for the site and the best one was selected.

A development application (DA) has not been lodged yet, with that document to be informed by significant community consultation.

What Mr Evetts can reveal, though, is that the existing buildings on the site won't be retained.

The two buildings were used as accommodation for residents of St Catherine's Aged Care, as well as providing for their needs through activity rooms and a commercial kitchen.

"We looked long and hard at what we could and could not retain, and the top building ... it's not fit for purpose, you really can't do anything with it," Mr Evetts said.

"The top building will definitely have to be demolished.

"The bottom building is newer. We looked at whether we could keep some of that or use the flooring of it, and in the end it just made sense to probably not keep either of the buildings."

Kirana wants to use the existing topography of the site for its future plans.

The old buildings are set to be replaced with a variety of townhouses and apartments, some of which would be "SOHO" (small office home unit) that people can run a small business from.

There will also be extensive green spaces and community facilities designed to promote interaction and a sense of belonging among residents.

Mr Evetts said the development would be guided by community consultation, but it is hoped that it will be suitable for a variety of people, from young families to retirees.

"There's more work we've actually got to do on what the community needs, in terms of demographics and the types of apartments and townhouses we build," he said.

"That said, I would expect it to have a range of people living there, from creatives, younger sort of people that can't necessarily afford a larger house, all the way through to older people who are downsizing."

Kirana plans to embark on community consultation in the coming months.

Once this phase has been completed, a full design and DA will then be submitted to Bathurst council.

This is anticipated to occur within the next 12 months.

In terms of construction, Mr Evetts expects any work on site would be two years away, should the DA be approved.

"These things always take longer than you'd think, longer than you'd expect, certainly in my experience, so I think at a minimum it's probably two years before we can really start any work on site," he said.