On Saturday, the Lismore App published a story about the cleanup and potential art creation at 10 Casino Street, South Lismore A phoenix may rise out of the ashes on Casino Street.

The next point of contact was Richard Jones, the owner of the block of land at 10 Casino Street.

Richard first wanted to apologise to the people of South Lismore for taking so long to clear the site. He was waiting on some government funding.

The Casino Street land has been in the Jones family for over 60 years. Richard explained that his father Paul Jones purchased the building and business to create a blacksmith and steel fabrication workshop.

Paul Jones helped build a lot of Lismore, the Northern Rivers, areas of NSW and South East Queensland. He helped build Richmond River High School and built many drive-in cinema screens back in the 1960s and '70s.

Due to his work, name and reputation, Paul Jones had a lane named after him right next to his business in 2012.

So, what will happen to the newly cleared site going forward?

"A lot depends on the state government and Lismore council," Richard said, "And what flood mitigation will occur in the future and what zoning and planning criteria will be in place."

"I would like to put up a mid-sized apartment building with two levels of car park for affordable and social housing."

"That sort of thing could be the start of a new way of building flood-resilient housing in the area. It's close to shops, transport and the CBD."

Richard's answers won't come until after the release of the CSIRO report due on 30 June 2025, various mitigation options are run and Lismore City Council determines what its flood planning levels in South Lismore will be.

"If the planning laws allowed it, we could go up six stories and have 30 odd units up there."

"If you chat to people on the ground in South Lismore, they don't want to live anywhere else. Southies really are a resilient mob."

"But for now, we will put a slab down on the block, put a fence around it and Sheaffe Motors will be parking their trucks on there for a while."

Richard Jones offered another view on what could be possible as Lismore looks at its future and as a city in transition, we should keep all options on the table, especially if it proves to be a safe option.