23 January 2017

Great expectations: Apartment life in Canberra

| Maryann Mussared
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Apartment blocks line the main road into Molonglo

In Part One of this two-part article on housing in the capital, I am looking at apartment living. There has been a lot of talk about affordable housing recently, or should it be rebranded ‘unaffordable housing’? With the last ACT election there were vague promises from both major parties to do something about the plight of first home owners, but I predict that there is very little currently in the pipeline to assist young Canberrans keen to take their first step into the real estate market. Something that has also become apparent is there are older Canberrans who are considering downsizing, but have found it difficult to find something suitable. Single level housing stock suitable for downsizing is extremely limited.

As building development moves ahead at a break-neck pace in Canberra, it is probably time for us to think about rebalancing our expectations with reality. Apartments are increasingly promoted as being one solution. There are lots of apartments in Canberra but apartment living, which is in effect communal living, is not for everyone, although I do know many who love living in the city and in an apartment.

Would you give up your car to live in an apartment on the light rail line?

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There is also the issue of when to buy. Buying off the plan has positives and negatives, with some comparing buying a new apartment to buying a new car: the minute you pay for it, it loses a percentage of its original value. Given there is very likely going to be an oversupply of apartments in the near future, it is just possible that prices might nosedive at the worst, or at least settle on a lower level.

House prices have gone through the roof, and competition to buy land is high. Certainly the great Australian dream of a three-bedroomed house and quarter acre block (1000 sq metres) has become just that and is now out of reach of most people in Canberra. This is simply because it is almost impossible to buy land that size. For some, by the time they have saved up enough money to buy the house of their dreams, they move in and then realise it is time to retire and the hunt is on for somewhere suitable to downsize.

The 2016 sale of blocks of land at the Ginninderra Estate, Holt last year was an eye-opener. Blocks as small as 250 square metres (sometimes called cottage blocks) sold for $250,000 which means if you had been able to buy four blocks together you may just have achieved 1000 square metres – the old quarter acre – for a cool $1,000,000. The enthusiasm with which these small blocks were snapped up will certainly impact on the whole of West Belconnen when it opens up for land sales later in the year. Notably, land sales in Moncrieff and Throsby also reached much higher than expected levels in 2016, enough to send some buyers scuttling off to Murrumbateman where 1,000 square metre blocks can be bought for just over $300,000. There are numerous reports that show how much land prices have increased in living memory, and I am sure there will people who read this who remember, and it wasn’t so long ago, when you could buy a perfectly nice home on a reasonable smaller block for under $100,000.

Ginninderra Estate - lovely Brindabella views with a surprisingly high price tag

So if that ‘Australian dream’ is no longer realistic, what are the alternatives in Canberra?

There have been many complaints right across the media about way too many apartments being built, but at least an apartment is a way into the real estate market for many first home buyers. If you are considering buying and living in an apartment, what do we have to consider?

The first apartments (then called flats) were built in Canberra in 1934. I was delighted to see one on the market recently and went to have a look. Although the early design may not suit everyone, they have high ceilings, and there is a graciousness that only age and good design can provide. Storage would be an issue, but back in the 1930s, people didn’t have so much ‘stuff’. There are still a few blocks of flats dotted through Barton and it was these lovely old buildings that provided housing for single people who came to live and work in Canberra. These buildings have now mellowed, are close to all the obvious inner Parliamentary Triangle amenities, and are surrounded by grass and lovely trees.

The oldest block of flats in Canberra was built to last

Regrettably, what is being built now in Canberra presents a somewhat different picture. Most will agree that housing is expensive and most agree that lots and lots of apartment are being built, and in all sorts of unexpected places. Arguments for high density housing along Northbourne Avenue supports the sort of density that is necessary for the light rail to be a success. Well, I wonder how anyone can explain what has happened in Molonglo? I drove through the new suburbs after an absence of some months and felt as though I was on another planet. Are these apartments being built in anticipation of a light rail line coming their way – in say, 2030? The new area of Molonglo (top image) may actually suit many people, especially when the roadworks have been completed and some shops built.

In the near future there will be lots of choice for apartments, especially along the entry to the centre of Canberra, as well as Belconnen and Gungahlin town centres, and Campbell. The apartments will be of varying quality, some may be deficit in planning and good design, and many will just not have enough storage or parking. Apartments are also seen as great investments so big blocks of apartments will inevitably have a lot of tenants. Most tenants are excellent and under their obligations, although there are sometimes issues with non-compliance with Body Corporate rules. But for the light rail to work, this is what has to happen. If the density isn’t there, the light rail will not be used and we all know the majority of Canberrans voted for the light rail.

The issue is not only about where we live, but how we live. Apartments in Canberra are subjected to regular criticism, whether it is about poor design, poor construction, too many tenants, the potential nightmare of airbnb being allowed, ambient noise, poor location, or being too small.

Whether this criticism is justified or not, anyone who is considering moving into a strata-titled apartment building or townhouse development needs to examine their own expectations. As an owner-occupier, and even as a tenant, you will need to carefully consider the Body Corporate rules. For some smaller developments, this might be a short list, but for larger developments (and remember the mega apartment blocks are on their way with pools, gyms, shared entertaining spaces and associated high body corporate fees) you will want to make sure there are rules to cover all the obvious: pets; usage of common property; parking; cleaning of pools and communal entertaining spaces; and rubbish handling.

If you are buying into an established building, take time to request to read the minute book. I did when I bought my strata title property and to my horror and relief found the only problems were with the owner and tenants of the property I was purchasing. So at least I knew that would not be an ongoing problem. Then there is the issue of management of the building. Strata managers do what they are instructed by the Executive Committee of the Body Corporate. Most people who buy into apartment blocks are amateurs when it comes to managing multi-million dollar buildings, and in some cases, badly built or poorly finished buildings may result in a long wrangle with builders and developers. If there are no specific rules in place, then the list of rules default to the standard one provided under Strata legislation, and that probably doesn’t cover everything. Just remember when you have read the rules, you might be quite prepared to abide by them, but it only takes one owner or tenant to break ranks, and you will be up to your neck in conflict.

I do speak from experience. I have moved homes many times: (house, townhouse, cottage, apartment, and company title flat) more times than most people have had a hot cooked breakfast and I have experienced it all. If one person can contravene the rules, dozens can.

There are some very successful high density living models. The Danes got in right as early as the 1960s with their interesting community housing model. They had started to get discontented with housing even back then and did something about it. Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands can all provide excellent examples of co-housing; a concept that allows collaborative planning and management of community activities and shared spaces.

There has been a lot of coverage, both positive and negative, of the Nightingale model of apartment living in Melbourne. The basic idea is like-minded purchasers collaborate as a cooperative or syndicate, incorporating collective planning and participation. Built on established transport routes, only limited parking is incorporated as it is anticipated people will use share cars or public transport. From what I have read about the massive new Geocon mixed use development, ‘Midnight’, on Northbourne Avenue at Braddon, not only does it (and a number of other large developments) have a really silly name, but it also has the potential to contribute to turning what was once a pleasant tree lined avenue into a wind-swept over-developed canyon*. As I sit in increasingly common traffic jams on Northbourne Avenue, I gaze up at the balconies of recently completed apartments facing Northbourne and marvel at what people manage to store on these small outdoor spaces.

The proposed design of ‘Midnight’ has already been criticised for not providing enough car parking spaces, as everyone will walk, or use the light rail [Editor’s note: Geocon have contacted the RiotACT to point out that the development delivers 200 new public car spaces to Braddon (in addition to resident and hotel guest parking)]. I am not entirely sure where people will go to from ‘Midnight’, unless they work in Woden and buy in anticipation of the completion of Stage 2 of the light rail. The concept of being a non-car owning community will come as a shock to many. We don’t yet have the population to support a car-sharing venture like GoGet nor do we have an integrated public transport system that will transport people seamlessly from their home to the many different centres of employment.

So if you are considering where you are going to buy, and you yearn for peace, privacy, space to grow your own vegies, a couple of dogs, cat, rabbit, and the odd ferret, then apartment living don’t appear to be a good fit.

In Part Two, I will look at emerging trends in alternative housing and what is going on in nearby regional cities.

In the meantime, it would be great if people shared positive experiences or their favourite current gripe of communal living.


Pictured at top, apartment blocks line the main road into Molonglo. Middle, Ginninderra Estate ? lovely Brindabella views with a surprisingly high price tag. Above, the oldest block of flats in Canberra was built to last. Photos: Maryann Mussared

* Geocon disputes this criticism of the Midnight development and has provided the following statement in response: “Maryann Mussared’s comments about the design of Midnight in Braddon are ill-informed. Firstly, it is a building in scale with its surrounds that will be the same height as the existing building it replaces. By no stretch of the imagination could it be described as “massive”. Secondly, how can it be asserted that Midnight will contribute to “overdevelopment” when there is already a building occupying much of the site? Finally, the development delivers 200 new public car spaces to Braddon (in addition to resident and hotel guest parking). Replacing a silent edifice and a windswept, private carpark with a vibrant new complex embracing its proximity to light rail and the Braddon precinct will add life and amenity to the area.”

Geocon has also provided an architect’s statement from Fender Katsalidis Architects, the firm that has designed the Midnight complex. That statement appears in full in the comments below.

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Maryann Mussared10:26 am 16 Feb 17

Aeek said :

Apartment secure parking only works for cars. It is a thieves paradise for bicycles and motorbikes. Ironic if we are trying to discourage car ownership.

I suppose that is why so many people take their bicycles into their apartments and park them on the balcony, along with all their other ‘stuff’ that they have no space to store. Apartment living is most suited for the organised and community minded…

Apartment secure parking only works for cars. It is a thieves paradise for bicycles and motorbikes. Ironic if we are trying to discourage car ownership.

Hi JC

Thanks to you (and to Maya123) for your comments. I am glad to hear that your new house in 2016 is an improvement on where you lived previously. But really, my point is, not only should housing desgin get better over time, but how do we accelerate it so that everyone benefits from what are good ideas?

You are right to a degree that these much older foreign cities likely have pretty ugly suburbs. But for me, the point is that many of our builders don’t seem to have any idea of how to bring beauty into their builds, despite the fact that there are such beautiful places in the world to learn from.

You mention us having learnt with our housing styles over passing decades. I’d suggest many apartments are the opposite, with materials and work quality falling in the last 20 years. So, we’ll have to agree to disagree on this point 🙂

In any case, I think we are in a bubble a la Japan in the late 1980’s, so maybe during the crunch that follows we might see less focus on quantity and more on quality. I can dream….

Ryoma said :

It’s been interesting to read all of this, Maryann, and I’m coming to it late.
Mrs Ryoma and I currently live in a 51sq.m 1brm apartment block along Flemington Road. It’s a little crowded at times, but as we’ve lived in Japan in places of similar size, that’s not such an issue.

There are definitely pluses and minuses to it. On the plus side, we have a garden, and we really enjoy it. The apartment faces nearly due north, good for passive solar heating in winter. In summer, much of the time we don’t need air conditioning because we get a through breeze. The apartment has a 6-star rating, and we are the first people to live in it.

The bus stop is not far away, and when the construction stops, the light rail will be equally handy. Being on this trunk route also means that access to both Civic and (especially) Gungahlin is fairly painless.

Yet we still have a car. Why? Because beyond this trunk route, public transport is more or less unviable to use. Given Canberra’s sprawl, many activities are “off the beaten track” in this respect (including many friends) and so a car is needed for pretty much everything except commuting.

On the down side, we’ve had issues with neighbours smoking above us and throwing their butts into our space. The building , as were/are many in my part of the world, were built in a tremendous hurry and corners were cut to save money and time. As a result, the doors are made of a cheap metal that slams shut and echoes at all times of day and night. The garage roof has drainpipes leading down to…nothing, so when it rains the water runs everywhere and leaves mould stains all over the carport. The lights for the carport shine into our bedroom window rather than down on the path, or into the carport where it should be.

I’m not in a position to buy anything, but even if I was, I’d find it hard to recognise value in the current housing market. While we love the types of apartments shown here (http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/), I’ve yet to see local workmanship offering such features outside of places like Braddon and Kingston.

Beyond that, I think that there are two real problems here. One is that many people are just reacting to FOMO, and without much financial intelligence. Does it make sense to buy into a huge mortgage if you don’t have much superannuation or other wealth saved? What is the opportunity cost of doing so? Would people be better off saving half of the cost of their housing, and only getting a mortgage for the rest, so that every payment ate into the loan capital, rather than paying off a stack of interest?

The other is that much of our building industry often seems incapable of thinking for itself. We now have energy ratings, but ony because they were brought in by the government. Then we have the types of issue that came up some months ago around the developer not having connected power meters.

There are some amazingly good architects and builders in Canberra. I’ve been on some of the tours run by the local Australian Institute of Architects, and I’ve seen them. But these services seem to be only available to the top end of town. The rest of us get offered more or less the same crap that was put up between the end of WW2 and the 1990’s. Yes, the materials and techniques may have changed, but they’re still essentially building the housing versions of McHappy Meals.

I have no doubt I’ll be told there is no need to change – after all, people are buying this stuff, so they must like it, surely? I’d argue they are simply buying the best of what is on offer…not the best our building industry is capable of.

Many of us have been overseas, and part of the excitement in doing so is the beauty inherent in urban surroundings. Kyoto, Paris, Istanbul, Morocco, Barcelona, New York, and so on all have a distinct character, not only because of their culture, but because at street level their architecture works.

But our suburbs could be anywhere from southern Tassie through to Darwin, especially our shopping centres. They look identical, and they don’t say anything about our city. Despite Canberra being a planned city, our builders make our city look generic and boring. Why? Is it because they lack confidence, or training? Or is it just because they have a captive market full of suckers who’ll buy garbage?

I’d love to see our entire industry hold a conference open to the public, with the industry, community groups, and government involved. Let’s agree on what we want city-wide, and work out what the barriers are that are stopping us from getting there.

Well written 🙂

Agree with most of what you wrote. Except…

Ryoma said :

There are some amazingly good architects and builders in Canberra. I’ve been on some of the tours run by the local Australian Institute of Architects, and I’ve seen them. But these services seem to be only available to the top end of town. The rest of us get offered more or less the same crap that was put up between the end of WW2 and the 1990’s. Yes, the materials and techniques may have changed, but they’re still essentially building the housing versions of McHappy Meals.

Having built in 2000 and again in 2016, I disagree. New house nothing like old on all fronts. Though yes would be nice if builders were forced, or offered (at a cost of course) to do more.

And of course the reason architectural designed homes are only at the top end is because that level of service is a luxury that comes at a cost. Though of course through the years many of the ideas do work their way into the project home market.

Ryoma said :

Many of us have been overseas, and part of the excitement in doing so is the beauty inherent in urban surroundings. Kyoto, Paris, Istanbul, Morocco, Barcelona, New York, and so on all have a distinct character, not only because of their culture, but because at street level their architecture works.

But our suburbs could be anywhere from southern Tassie through to Darwin, especially our shopping centres. They look identical, and they don’t say anything about our city. Despite Canberra being a planned city, our builders make our city look generic and boring. Why? Is it because they lack confidence, or training? Or is it just because they have a captive market full of suckers who’ll buy garbage?

The problem is you are comparing cities that are quite old and I am guessing only comparing the inner areas (which may well be as big as Canberra) compared to your comparison of the whole of the ACT.

If you were to venture into suburban Paris for example outside the Boulevard Périphérique, you might find suburban life and the general level of architecture is no too dislike what we have here right now.

And what we have if you compare areas truthfully represents the ideals and ideas of the time. Look at the inner areas of North and South Canberra. Then modern Canberra really started to go off in the mid to late 1960’s with Woden, Belconnen and Weston Creek. Through out time each changed with each variation in what we have learnt and adaptation to the way we live and think. And then going forward into the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s with Tuggeranong and Gungahlin.

I know it suits the narrative of the anti development anti government push that can be seen on this board, but think what is being developed is representative for the most part of what people really want. Where there is a disconnect is between what people pay and what they want to pay.

Take ‘poorly’ constructed apartments for example, want them better constructed they will cost more. Simple as that. And my own personal experience I’ve had a house built recently as I mentioned, yes it is a project home/design, but I’ve ponied the extra cash to get something that is above average in terms of quality. Double galzing for example.

It’s been interesting to read all of this, Maryann, and I’m coming to it late.
Mrs Ryoma and I currently live in a 51sq.m 1brm apartment block along Flemington Road. It’s a little crowded at times, but as we’ve lived in Japan in places of similar size, that’s not such an issue.

There are definitely pluses and minuses to it. On the plus side, we have a garden, and we really enjoy it. The apartment faces nearly due north, good for passive solar heating in winter. In summer, much of the time we don’t need air conditioning because we get a through breeze. The apartment has a 6-star rating, and we are the first people to live in it.

The bus stop is not far away, and when the construction stops, the light rail will be equally handy. Being on this trunk route also means that access to both Civic and (especially) Gungahlin is fairly painless.

Yet we still have a car. Why? Because beyond this trunk route, public transport is more or less unviable to use. Given Canberra’s sprawl, many activities are “off the beaten track” in this respect (including many friends) and so a car is needed for pretty much everything except commuting.

On the down side, we’ve had issues with neighbours smoking above us and throwing their butts into our space. The building , as were/are many in my part of the world, were built in a tremendous hurry and corners were cut to save money and time. As a result, the doors are made of a cheap metal that slams shut and echoes at all times of day and night. The garage roof has drainpipes leading down to…nothing, so when it rains the water runs everywhere and leaves mould stains all over the carport. The lights for the carport shine into our bedroom window rather than down on the path, or into the carport where it should be.

I’m not in a position to buy anything, but even if I was, I’d find it hard to recognise value in the current housing market. While we love the types of apartments shown here (http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/), I’ve yet to see local workmanship offering such features outside of places like Braddon and Kingston.

Beyond that, I think that there are two real problems here. One is that many people are just reacting to FOMO, and without much financial intelligence. Does it make sense to buy into a huge mortgage if you don’t have much superannuation or other wealth saved? What is the opportunity cost of doing so? Would people be better off saving half of the cost of their housing, and only getting a mortgage for the rest, so that every payment ate into the loan capital, rather than paying off a stack of interest?

The other is that much of our building industry often seems incapable of thinking for itself. We now have energy ratings, but ony because they were brought in by the government. Then we have the types of issue that came up some months ago around the developer not having connected power meters.

There are some amazingly good architects and builders in Canberra. I’ve been on some of the tours run by the local Australian Institute of Architects, and I’ve seen them. But these services seem to be only available to the top end of town. The rest of us get offered more or less the same crap that was put up between the end of WW2 and the 1990’s. Yes, the materials and techniques may have changed, but they’re still essentially building the housing versions of McHappy Meals.

I have no doubt I’ll be told there is no need to change – after all, people are buying this stuff, so they must like it, surely? I’d argue they are simply buying the best of what is on offer…not the best our building industry is capable of.

Many of us have been overseas, and part of the excitement in doing so is the beauty inherent in urban surroundings. Kyoto, Paris, Istanbul, Morocco, Barcelona, New York, and so on all have a distinct character, not only because of their culture, but because at street level their architecture works.

But our suburbs could be anywhere from southern Tassie through to Darwin, especially our shopping centres. They look identical, and they don’t say anything about our city. Despite Canberra being a planned city, our builders make our city look generic and boring. Why? Is it because they lack confidence, or training? Or is it just because they have a captive market full of suckers who’ll buy garbage?

I’d love to see our entire industry hold a conference open to the public, with the industry, community groups, and government involved. Let’s agree on what we want city-wide, and work out what the barriers are that are stopping us from getting there.

BunLover said :

My neighbours don’t love all my music choices, and sometimes the volume, but it’s legal too.

I think that if your music is loud enough to annoy the neighbours, it isn’t legal?

ChrisinTurner4:11 pm 28 Jan 17

A huge problem with buying apartments in Canberra is the exemption given to builders that they don’t need to have defect insurance if they build higher than 3 storeys.

Maryann Mussared said :

in_the_taratory said :

We don’t yet have the population to support a car-sharing venture like GoGet.

GoGet and Pop Car both started in Canberra in April 2016. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/car-sharing-begins-in-canberra-20160415-go7m9q.html

I knew GoGet vans had been out at Ikea since the day they opened in 2015. For these car sharing ventures to work, it is desirable to have a population that consciously does away with their cars because they know that when they walk out of their home or apartment block, there will be a car, on a reserved spot, hopefully within 200 metres, waiting for them. This is what happens in places of high density such as Potts Point in Sydney where there is a GoGet car or 2 every 100 metres. It is going to take a real change of mindset to get Canberrans out of their own cars and onto public transport or using share cars.

In the meantime, it takes 22 car spaces out of the reach of motorists who pay rates and taxes for the expectation that car parking in the city may be available to them albeit at a very high price. .

Maryann Mussared9:32 am 28 Jan 17

in_the_taratory said :

We don’t yet have the population to support a car-sharing venture like GoGet.

GoGet and Pop Car both started in Canberra in April 2016. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/car-sharing-begins-in-canberra-20160415-go7m9q.html

I knew GoGet vans had been out at Ikea since the day they opened in 2015. For these car sharing ventures to work, it is desirable to have a population that consciously does away with their cars because they know that when they walk out of their home or apartment block, there will be a car, on a reserved spot, hopefully within 200 metres, waiting for them. This is what happens in places of high density such as Potts Point in Sydney where there is a GoGet car or 2 every 100 metres. It is going to take a real change of mindset to get Canberrans out of their own cars and onto public transport or using share cars.

I live in an apartment on Northbourne. I knew I would never be able to afford a house in the city, and I don’t need a ton of space so an apartment is perfect. My place is pretty well constructed and a decent size – noting that of course an apartment will be smaller than a freestanding house.
I have a pretty extensive garden on my balcony and my rabbit loves the apartment too, there’s plenty of room for “pocket pets” like bunnies.
My neighbour smokes, but we just close the balconyof it’s annoying, which it very rarely is.
I do think that apartment life requires more compromise and cooperation with your neighbours but I have found a simple conversation goes a long way.

in_the_taratory said :

We don’t yet have the population to support a car-sharing venture like GoGet.

GoGet and Pop Car both started in Canberra in April 2016. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/car-sharing-begins-in-canberra-20160415-go7m9q.html

Indeed we don’t have the support for either at the moment.
The ACT government allocated 11 parking spaces in the city to them both but Pop Car have no reference to a Canberra operation on their website and Go Get only have 7 cars and all appear to be located near IKEA.

Remember A Better Place?

in_the_taratory10:44 am 27 Jan 17

We don’t yet have the population to support a car-sharing venture like GoGet.

GoGet and Pop Car both started in Canberra in April 2016. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/car-sharing-begins-in-canberra-20160415-go7m9q.html

BunLover said :

So your answer is to ban smoking, not to encourage neighbours to talk to each other? I would hate to live next to, above, or below someone who wants to ban everything they don’t like, rather than try to sort it out like adults.

there would be some neighbours that it is pointless talking too – they wouldnt give a toss.

Where does it say that someone “wants to ban everything they dont like” ?? The comment was just about baning smoking.

Chris Mordd Richards11:21 pm 23 Jan 17

Maryann Mussared said :

bruce_lord said :

Most banks won’t loan for a smaller than 50sqm apartment, which makes the Yamaroshi development on Mort st an interesting build. They have majority 43sqm apartments according to a plan I saw.

And there are others in the pipeline described as ‘compact’.

Which is not a problem, as long as we address the funding availability issue. It’s a banking issue not a housing size issue though to be completely clear.

Maryann Mussared8:32 pm 23 Jan 17

bruce_lord said :

Most banks won’t loan for a smaller than 50sqm apartment, which makes the Yamaroshi development on Mort st an interesting build. They have majority 43sqm apartments according to a plan I saw.

And there are others in the pipeline described as ‘compact’.

Most banks won’t loan for a smaller than 50sqm apartment, which makes the Yamaroshi development on Mort st an interesting build. They have majority 43sqm apartments according to a plan I saw.

Chris Mordd Richards5:54 pm 23 Jan 17

BunLover said :

So your answer is to ban smoking, not to encourage neighbours to talk to each other?

I would prefer to live in a place where adults can sort out their problems peacefully.

I don’t smoke, but it’s legal. My neighbours don’t love all my music choices, and sometimes the volume, but it’s legal too. We’ve come to a very peaceful agreement about when and where we can enjoy our legal but possibly annoying choices.

I would hate to live next to, above, or below someone who wants to ban everything they don’t like, rather than try to sort it out like adults.

Well said, +1!

BunLover said :

So your answer is to ban smoking, not to encourage neighbours to talk to each other?

I would prefer to live in a place where adults can sort out their problems peacefully.

I don’t smoke, but it’s legal. My neighbours don’t love all my music choices, and sometimes the volume, but it’s legal too. We’ve come to a very peaceful agreement about when and where we can enjoy our legal but possibly annoying choices.

I would hate to live next to, above, or below someone who wants to ban everything they don’t like, rather than try to sort it out like adults.

It’s nice to talk to your neighbours, but realistically, do you expect the smoker to stop smoking at home, no matter how nicely you ask and smile. They would likely just say words to the effect of, it’s their home and they can do what they like and you can butt out (accidental pun 🙂 ), it’s a free world (which it isn’t really if we live in a community) and they are going to smoke. I can imagine someone agreeing to turn down the music, but a committed smoker say to a polite request and a friendly smile, they are sorry they won’t smoke again at home and they didn’t realise it was a problem. Fairy land! It’s an addition. The only way to stop it in apartments is to have a compulsory ban on smoking everywhere in and around the building and have means to enforce it.
Re music; I try to consider my neighbours and I don’t play music so loud it will be annoying. I like to be thoughtful so they don’t need to complain.

So your answer is to ban smoking, not to encourage neighbours to talk to each other?

I would prefer to live in a place where adults can sort out their problems peacefully.

I don’t smoke, but it’s legal. My neighbours don’t love all my music choices, and sometimes the volume, but it’s legal too. We’ve come to a very peaceful agreement about when and where we can enjoy our legal but possibly annoying choices.

I would hate to live next to, above, or below someone who wants to ban everything they don’t like, rather than try to sort it out like adults.

Chris Mordd Richards3:01 pm 23 Jan 17

Maryann Mussared said :

Maryann Mussared said :

Chris Mordd Richards said :

I feel you are crediting the trend from houses to apartments, especially smaller size apartments in the ACT, solely to the light rail and ignoring other relevant factors. I just found

A google search shows many articles from 2010-2013 talking about the trend away from big houses to smaller apartments being constructed in Canberra, and around Australia, even before the LR was taken to the election as a commitment in 2012, and just after as well.

You complain about storage issues for all the ‘stuff’ we have these days, but also ignore the many modern compact living methods and styles which allow for lots ‘stuff’ in an even smaller apartment than the spacious large ones of old you are reminiscing about. You also seem to completely ignore the influence the micro-house and micro-apartment movement influencing this which has been driving this trend for a lot more years in Australia and worldwide than just the light rail proposal here has by itself, although it obviously adds a major influence on top of that now too.

Although this is from an investor site, maybe this might be a good read for you to start with to see that this size of new apartments is not solely influenced by the light rail nor do a lot of people my age or younger see the storage issues the same as you, largely thanks to modern methods of being able to have lots of stuff in a smaller space and still do it comfortably.

http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/

The light rail is certainly one of the reasons more apartments are being planned and will be built in the future. Regrettably developers can make more profit from high rise than medium density.

The problem with micro, or compact apartments, is the banks can see the writing in the wall and it will become harder to get a mortgage. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/size-is-important-warning-offtheplan-buyers-could-struggle-to-finance-small-apartments-20170118-gtu2zc.html
This link is about what is happening in Melbourne but last week there was a report of a young man in Canberra being rejected by one of the big four after he had committed to purchase a small unit. The bank deemed it was not a good risk because it was too small. He was faced with losing $45,000 although I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration.

Sorry I can’t find the link again. But I paid attention after seeing that new developments are offering a range of units – compact, standard and large. I do have to admit that some people are much better at moving ‘stuff’ on, while others just keep buying. I walk past the storage cages underneath a bit apartment block in the city and cannot believe what has been squirrelled away in some.

I just found a reference to the young man whose mortgage was rejected and it is contained in The Age article. However there was another article in the Canberra Times and it wasn’t clear it was Melbourne. But if it happens in Melbourne it could easily happen here.

Correct, it was in St Kilda. I read the CT article at the time, my tweet about it is right here: https://twitter.com/Mordd_IndyMedia/status/821385655817117697

That apartment was very micro to be fair, 47m square is on the lowest end of the micro apartment scale pretty much, and a policy to not fund less than 50m square is actually not too unreasonable on it’s own. The issue there was the bank employee saying it would be ok when it obviously was not going to be ok.

I read somewhere when looking into this that the average apartment size of new apartments being constructed in Canberra at the moment is 97m? square, which is still below the national average of about 127m? square I think it was, but still quite bigger than a 47m square apartment size.

So this case is a bit of a misnomer and outlier. I would support though, as part of the Banking Commission we still need to have, changes being made, enforced legislatively if necessary, to massively expand and improve available loans for micro apartments and micro houses / land plots, including those as small as this 47m square apartment. There is a big issue with the availability of loans for smaller places, and that has to be urgently addressed. That is not a reason to not build smaller though, it is just something that needs to be addressed as part of improving access to home ownership for young and single Australians overall.

Maryann Mussared said :

This link is about what is happening in Melbourne but last week there was a report of a young man in Canberra being rejected by one of the big four after he had committed to purchase a small unit. The bank deemed it was not a good risk because it was too small. He was faced with losing $45,000 although I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration.

The “story” there was that an individual chose to exchange contracts without finance approval, either ignoring his solicitor’s advice or having engaged an incompetent solicitor.

He only “loses” the $45k if he fails to proceed with the contract he signed. No bank was under any obligation to lend to him – which is precisely the reason you follow the advice of a competent solicitor and don’t exchange unless you have either the cash in the bank, or an approved loan.

How this got beaten up to be somehow the bank’s fault is anybody’s guess.

Maryann Mussared said :

Chris Mordd Richards said :

I feel you are crediting the trend from houses to apartments, especially smaller size apartments in the ACT, solely to the light rail and ignoring other relevant factors.

A google search shows many articles from 2010-2013 talking about the trend away from big houses to smaller apartments being constructed in Canberra, and around Australia, even before the LR was taken to the election as a commitment in 2012, and just after as well.

You complain about storage issues for all the ‘stuff’ we have these days, but also ignore the many modern compact living methods and styles which allow for lots ‘stuff’ in an even smaller apartment than the spacious large ones of old you are reminiscing about. You also seem to completely ignore the influence the micro-house and micro-apartment movement influencing this which has been driving this trend for a lot more years in Australia and worldwide than just the light rail proposal here has by itself, although it obviously adds a major influence on top of that now too.

Although this is from an investor site, maybe this might be a good read for you to start with to see that this size of new apartments is not solely influenced by the light rail nor do a lot of people my age or younger see the storage issues the same as you, largely thanks to modern methods of being able to have lots of stuff in a smaller space and still do it comfortably.

http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/

The light rail is certainly one of the reasons more apartments are being planned and will be built in the future. Regrettably developers can make more profit from high rise than medium density.

The problem with micro, or compact apartments, is the banks can see the writing in the wall and it will become harder to get a mortgage. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/size-is-important-warning-offtheplan-buyers-could-struggle-to-finance-small-apartments-20170118-gtu2zc.html
This link is about what is happening in Melbourne but last week there was a report of a young man in Canberra being rejected by one of the big four after he had committed to purchase a small unit. The bank deemed it was not a good risk because it was too small. He was faced with losing $45,000 although I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration.

Sorry I can’t find the link again. But I paid attention after seeing that new developments are offering a range of units – compact, standard and large. I do have to admit that some people are much better at moving ‘stuff’ on, while others just keep buying. I walk past the storage cages underneath a bit apartment block in the city and cannot believe what has been squirrelled away in some.

Surely you would check out mortgage options BEFORE you made a deposit on a unit, etc! How do you know you will get the money?

Maryann Mussared said :

The light rail is certainly one of the reasons more apartments are being planned and will be built in the future. Regrettably developers can make more profit from high rise than medium density.

So if Lightrail is the root cause of all this evil, then how do you explain the apartments that are being built OUTSIDE the lightrail corridor? In fact most apartments are outside the corridor.

For the most part the increase in density through apartments is what helps to make older areas keep a hope of being viable into the future. Just look at comments around about school closures.

I think you make a really good point, JC. I’ve just been on holidays overseas, and many of their apartments are actually built a block or two back from the main roads, which are dominated by commercial and office buildings.

As for the suburban areas remaining viable, that’s crucial as the population ages and – incredible as it may seem to us now – shrinks one day. Japan is a decade ahead of the rest of the world in terms of aging, and what this article describes is actually going on in many urban areas over there: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/apr/17/the-town-that-outlawed-sprawl-onagawa-tsunami-rebuild

Maryann Mussared said :

I just found a reference to the young man whose mortgage was rejected and it is contained in The Age article. However there was another article in the Canberra Times and it wasn’t clear it was Melbourne. But if it happens in Melbourne it could easily happen here.

The issue there was the apartment was under 50m2. Don’t think too many of them in Canberra (and going to say maybe not too many in Melb either). An exception doesn’t make it the norm.

Maryann Mussared11:33 am 23 Jan 17

Maryann Mussared said :

Chris Mordd Richards said :

I feel you are crediting the trend from houses to apartments, especially smaller size apartments in the ACT, solely to the light rail and ignoring other relevant factors. I just found

A google search shows many articles from 2010-2013 talking about the trend away from big houses to smaller apartments being constructed in Canberra, and around Australia, even before the LR was taken to the election as a commitment in 2012, and just after as well.

You complain about storage issues for all the ‘stuff’ we have these days, but also ignore the many modern compact living methods and styles which allow for lots ‘stuff’ in an even smaller apartment than the spacious large ones of old you are reminiscing about. You also seem to completely ignore the influence the micro-house and micro-apartment movement influencing this which has been driving this trend for a lot more years in Australia and worldwide than just the light rail proposal here has by itself, although it obviously adds a major influence on top of that now too.

Although this is from an investor site, maybe this might be a good read for you to start with to see that this size of new apartments is not solely influenced by the light rail nor do a lot of people my age or younger see the storage issues the same as you, largely thanks to modern methods of being able to have lots of stuff in a smaller space and still do it comfortably.

http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/

The light rail is certainly one of the reasons more apartments are being planned and will be built in the future. Regrettably developers can make more profit from high rise than medium density.

The problem with micro, or compact apartments, is the banks can see the writing in the wall and it will become harder to get a mortgage. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/size-is-important-warning-offtheplan-buyers-could-struggle-to-finance-small-apartments-20170118-gtu2zc.html
This link is about what is happening in Melbourne but last week there was a report of a young man in Canberra being rejected by one of the big four after he had committed to purchase a small unit. The bank deemed it was not a good risk because it was too small. He was faced with losing $45,000 although I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration.

Sorry I can’t find the link again. But I paid attention after seeing that new developments are offering a range of units – compact, standard and large. I do have to admit that some people are much better at moving ‘stuff’ on, while others just keep buying. I walk past the storage cages underneath a bit apartment block in the city and cannot believe what has been squirrelled away in some.

I just found a reference to the young man whose mortgage was rejected and it is contained in The Age article. However there was another article in the Canberra Times and it wasn’t clear it was Melbourne. But if it happens in Melbourne it could easily happen here.

Maryann Mussared11:30 am 23 Jan 17

Chris Mordd Richards said :

I feel you are crediting the trend from houses to apartments, especially smaller size apartments in the ACT, solely to the light rail and ignoring other relevant factors.

A google search shows many articles from 2010-2013 talking about the trend away from big houses to smaller apartments being constructed in Canberra, and around Australia, even before the LR was taken to the election as a commitment in 2012, and just after as well.

You complain about storage issues for all the ‘stuff’ we have these days, but also ignore the many modern compact living methods and styles which allow for lots ‘stuff’ in an even smaller apartment than the spacious large ones of old you are reminiscing about. You also seem to completely ignore the influence the micro-house and micro-apartment movement influencing this which has been driving this trend for a lot more years in Australia and worldwide than just the light rail proposal here has by itself, although it obviously adds a major influence on top of that now too.

Although this is from an investor site, maybe this might be a good read for you to start with to see that this size of new apartments is not solely influenced by the light rail nor do a lot of people my age or younger see the storage issues the same as you, largely thanks to modern methods of being able to have lots of stuff in a smaller space and still do it comfortably.

http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/

The light rail is certainly one of the reasons more apartments are being planned and will be built in the future. Regrettably developers can make more profit from high rise than medium density. The problem with micro, or compact apartments, is the banks can see the writing in the wall and it will become harder to get a mortgage. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/size-is-important-warning-offtheplan-buyers-could-struggle-to-finance-small-apartments-20170118-gtu2zc.html
This link is about what is happening in Melbourne but last week there was a report of a young man in Canberra being rejected by one of the big four after he had committed to purchase a small unit. The bank deemed it was not a good risk because it was too small. He was faced with losing $45,000 although I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration. Sorry I can’t find the link again. But I paid attention after seeing that new developments are offering a range of units – compact, standard and large. I do have to admit that some people are much better at moving ‘stuff’ on, while others just keep buying. I walk past the storage cages underneath a bit apartment block in the city and cannot believe what has been squirrelled away in some.

bringontheevidence10:35 am 23 Jan 17

I think there are far too many generalisations about ‘apartment living’, particularly by those who have only ever lived in a detached house, or by those who have only ever experienced old or low quality apartments.

Saying you would never live in an apartment based on your experience visiting someone who lived in a 60s era dog box with shared laundry and no lift is like saying you would never live in a beautifully renovated and extended 30s era bungalow in Forrest because you once lived in a former council house in Charnwood.

The lifestyle offered by apartments is as diverse as that offered by detached housing. The low cost, low quality apartments in Wright serve one purpose very well – they allow first home buyers to purchase somewhere that’s affordable and close to the city and where mortgage payments are lower than what the buyer would be paying in rent.

However, the lifestyle and amenities available to that person are not even in the same league as that offered to buyers of premium apartments in places like Kingston or Braddon so you shouldn’t really dump them in the same basket.

Chris Mordd Richards said :

I feel you are crediting the trend from houses to apartments, especially smaller size apartments in the ACT, solely to the light rail and ignoring other relevant factors.

A google search shows many articles from 2010-2013 talking about the trend away from big houses to smaller apartments being constructed in Canberra, and around Australia, even before the LR was taken to the election as a commitment in 2012, and just after as well.

You complain about storage issues for all the ‘stuff’ we have these days, but also ignore the many modern compact living methods and styles which allow for lots ‘stuff’ in an even smaller apartment than the spacious large ones of old you are reminiscing about. You also seem to completely ignore the influence the micro-house and micro-apartment movement influencing this which has been driving this trend for a lot more years in Australia and worldwide than just the light rail proposal here has by itself, although it obviously adds a major influence on top of that now too.

Although this is from an investor site, maybe this might be a good read for you to start with to see that this size of new apartments is not solely influenced by the light rail nor do a lot of people my age or younger see the storage issues the same as you, largely thanks to modern methods of being able to have lots of stuff in a smaller space and still do it comfortably.

http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/

If one lives in an apartment you need less ‘stuff’ to start with. No gardening things for starters, no wood heap and the like. Less likely to need a pantry, as you won’t be growing your own food and storing it. Younger people also have less stuff; and they are the most likely to live in small homes, as they haven’t had time to gather it. I left home with one suitcase for instance. A year later I left my first accommodation and everything fitted very easily into a car, except the bicycle I had added to my belongings, so while my parents drove my goods to my new rental house, I rode the bike there. It would be harder for an older person to live in a tiny space, as they have had more years to collect things, but it should be no problem for most young people. However, some people seem to gather more ‘stuff’ than other people, and quicker too.

Chris Mordd Richards7:58 am 23 Jan 17

I feel you are crediting the trend from houses to apartments, especially smaller size apartments in the ACT, solely to the light rail and ignoring other relevant factors.

A google search shows many articles from 2010-2013 talking about the trend away from big houses to smaller apartments being constructed in Canberra, and around Australia, even before the LR was taken to the election as a commitment in 2012, and just after as well.

You complain about storage issues for all the ‘stuff’ we have these days, but also ignore the many modern compact living methods and styles which allow for lots ‘stuff’ in an even smaller apartment than the spacious large ones of old you are reminiscing about. You also seem to completely ignore the influence the micro-house and micro-apartment movement influencing this which has been driving this trend for a lot more years in Australia and worldwide than just the light rail proposal here has by itself, although it obviously adds a major influence on top of that now too.

Although this is from an investor site, maybe this might be a good read for you to start with to see that this size of new apartments is not solely influenced by the light rail nor do a lot of people my age or younger see the storage issues the same as you, largely thanks to modern methods of being able to have lots of stuff in a smaller space and still do it comfortably.

http://www.investorgenius.com.au/others/micro-apartments-are-a-growing-trend-in-australia-when-they-look-like-these-its-not-hard-to-see-why/

BunLover said :

rommeldog56 said :

JC said :

So how much are you paying in maintenance of your property? Including water and maintenance of your block and physical maintenance of your house?

No where even close to that differential. Many people do most maintenance on houses themselves.

Apartment owners only have to pay contents insurance. The “home” part of it is covered by body corporate/strata fees.

I was a reluctant apartment dweller, always wanted to live in a house with a garden, dogs, vegie patch, fruit trees etc. Divorce changed that. I moved from a home in the outer burbs to a unit in the inner burbs.

I currently have zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs growing on my balconies, my lemon tree in a pot has fruit, and my neighbours are much quieter.

Yes, the upstairs neighbours smoke, which is annoying, but we have an agreement that they only smoke on one balcony, and I can close that door. In return, if I am having people around, we go to the other end of the apartment.

Life’s not that hard people!

Not every apartment has multiple balconies, to allow what you are suggesting re smoking. And then, what about the smoke that comes through the floorboards, as it did in my flat, and also for the other flat dweller who I quoted. Closing the doors and windows didn’t help. I’m guessing most people (the 87% or so who don’t smoke) would appreciate non-smoking apartments. In fact I imagine if they advertised the apartments would be non-smoking they would be more popular than a similar apartment that still allowed smoking, especially if the sellers pointed out that the percentage of smokers will go up in those apartments that continued to allow smoking, if other apartments started to ban smoking.

JC said :

So how much are you paying in maintenance of your property? Including water and maintenance of your block and physical maintenance of your house?

House maintenance can be put off, or done by the owner a lot of the time. Body corporate fees are inexorable – and it would be really annoying to be compulsorily paying a gardener to do the basic maintenance on your garden. Plus, apartment dwellers are hoist to the petard of the body corporate committee, and there would be a fair proportion of a******es on some of them I would think.

What fool buyers are these? Those Gininderra Estate land prices quoted are downright bizarre. For a little under that million dollars for four blocks totalling 1000 metres out in wherever-outer-burbia-cultural-desert-commuter-nightmare, you can buy a do-up house in Ainslie on 900 square metres a five-minute cycle ride or 20 minute walk from Civic. With great schools catchment, great parks, Mt Ainslie a few minutes walk away, and a terrific shopping centre with free, always-available parking.

most units/ appartments in Canberra are small tiny odd shaped battery hen boxes. I’m working on one now that is only 5 meters wide . Most units the bedrooms are so small there is barely and space around a queen size bed.

rommeldog56 said :

JC said :

So how much are you paying in maintenance of your property? Including water and maintenance of your block and physical maintenance of your house?

No where even close to that differential. Many people do most maintenance on houses themselves.

Even doing it yourself costs. I am going to bet many people would spend up to $2000 a year on maintaining their properties. And if they aren’t they should be.

rommeldog56 said :

JC said :

So how much are you paying in maintenance of your property? Including water and maintenance of your block and physical maintenance of your house?

No where even close to that differential. Many people do most maintenance on houses themselves.

Apartment owners only have to pay contents insurance. The “home” part of it is covered by body corporate/strata fees.

I was a reluctant apartment dweller, always wanted to live in a house with a garden, dogs, vegie patch, fruit trees etc. Divorce changed that. I moved from a home in the outer burbs to a unit in the inner burbs.

I currently have zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs growing on my balconies, my lemon tree in a pot has fruit, and my neighbours are much quieter.

Yes, the upstairs neighbours smoke, which is annoying, but we have an agreement that they only smoke on one balcony, and I can close that door. In return, if I am having people around, we go to the other end of the apartment.

Life’s not that hard people!

The trouble with apartments, is that if there is a smoker it ruins it for the other people living there. I remember visiting an apartment (a more upmarket one too) and when I walked into the foyer I could have ‘cut’ the air with a knife because of the smoke. The flat of the person I visited stank of smoke, but they didn’t smoke. The output from this smoker (and there might only be one) had seeped into the public area and other flats.
Years ago I lived in a flat and the smoke from the neighbours downstairs seeped through the floorboards into my flat. Fortunately those neighbours were often away. I am not the only person to experience this, as I found this comment on another forum, “It was the only downside of living in an apartment – the smokers downstairs. We got the smoke through the floorboards and our balcony overlooking a beautiful park was pretty much never used because of the smoke.”
Here is a link to Strata concerns about smoking which was interesting: https://www.lookupstrata.com.au/factsheet-strata-smoking/

Another option in the survey should have been:

Would you give up your car to live in an apartment on the light rail line?

– Not until smoking is banned in apartments and the ban enforced.

This includes sections about smoking in apartments:
http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-15-smokefree-environment/15-6-domestic-environments

JC said :

So how much are you paying in maintenance of your property? Including water and maintenance of your block and physical maintenance of your house?

No where even close to that differential. Many people do most maintenance on houses themselves.

rommeldog56 said :

A good article, well done.

What I dont get is that on my stand alone house on a 846 sq m block in the burbs, my Annual Rates are about $2,500pa and going up rapidly. However, when I look to downsize, I find that the combination of Annual Rates and body Corporate fees on a unit/townhouse for those I’ve looked at, are well over $5K pa – and these are only average priced/quality developments, not Kingston Foreshore type locations.

In fact, the ACT Labor/Greens Govt has increased Annual Rates on units by 20% this fy and by 15% next fy. I just don’t see how that will encourage people to downsize into a cement jungle or facilitate affordable housing.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing suggestions.

So how much are you paying in maintenance of your property? Including water and maintenance of your block and physical maintenance of your house?

Charlotte Harper said :

Geocon has also provided this statement from the architect behind the Midnight development:

Fender Katsalidis Architects

We stand on Elouera Street and look west. We see Northbourne Avenue, one of the key avenues of the Griffin plan for Canberra. Appropriately for its urban stature this tree-lined boulevard exerts a strong symbolic presence reinforced by its width and landscape.

Now we look east. There is Mort Street and Braddon, once a mix of industrial and car yards, now a melange of different activities and lifestyles, a bit rough-and-tumble, and all the better for that.

Only a hundred metres separate them but they are completely different environments and experiences.

The Midnight project sits between Northbourne and Braddon. Midnight links them, but doesn’t merge them. Instead Midnight responds to the character of each.

The city-changing transport infrastructure of the light rail will run along Northbourne Avenue right past Midnight. The Elouera station will be just outside. The light rail will help transform Northbourne Avenue from a car-dominated road into a pedestrian-inhabited boulevard. Midnight will be one of the first developments to actively reinforce those urban possibilities. Its incorporation of activities and facilities will support and encourage public use and pedestrian amenity.

Those amenities form part of the active ground floor of Midnight. Set below street level to create a sense of enclosure and focus, the main entry into this building of different uses contains cafe, dining, retail and hotel activities. In response to both its inherent qualities, and as a place to commence a light rail journey, this will become a great meeting space, a place of interchange and discourse, of relaxation and contemplation. A precinct for living, working, staying and visiting. A mix of uses not loudly declaring itself but instead revealing themselves as we enter and pass through the building.

Connected as it is to the hotel, the ground floor will have an internal dynamic which will sustain its presence through all hours of the day. Leading off from there into the site is a public courtyard, faced by a sculptural formation of hotel rooms. Intriguingly landscaped, lapped with still and falling water, this space will be a tightly composed place of light and shade like no other in Canberra. Set away from the bounding streets, this will create a connected public space in the very heart of this important site.

In this way the mixed-use buildings forming Midnight have been crafted to foster interaction through a multiplicity of uses whilst successfully separating those uses where needed.

The physical presence of the building responds to the different characters of its locale. The Northbourne Avenue face of the building is composed of large horizontally proportioned facade subdivisions in response to the urban scale, horizontal emphasis and axial nature of that street. By contrast the Mort Street face is composed of a series of elements of smaller scale, reflecting the grainy multiplicity of Braddon.

In between sits the Elouera Street face, bringing together aspects of both the Northbourne Avenue and Mort Street faces of the building and, in doing so, creating its own character of repose and reflection.

Midnight will represent a great diversity of living, staying, working and visiting opportunities in a place which will be an active reinforcement of the new public life of Northbourne Avenue and the presence of Braddon.

Amen.

Charlotte Harper8:34 pm 20 Jan 17

Geocon has also provided this statement from the architect behind the Midnight development:

Fender Katsalidis Architects

We stand on Elouera Street and look west. We see Northbourne Avenue, one of the key avenues of the Griffin plan for Canberra. Appropriately for its urban stature this tree-lined boulevard exerts a strong symbolic presence reinforced by its width and landscape.

Now we look east. There is Mort Street and Braddon, once a mix of industrial and car yards, now a melange of different activities and lifestyles, a bit rough-and-tumble, and all the better for that.

Only a hundred metres separate them but they are completely different environments and experiences.

The Midnight project sits between Northbourne and Braddon. Midnight links them, but doesn’t merge them. Instead Midnight responds to the character of each.

The city-changing transport infrastructure of the light rail will run along Northbourne Avenue right past Midnight. The Elouera station will be just outside. The light rail will help transform Northbourne Avenue from a car-dominated road into a pedestrian-inhabited boulevard. Midnight will be one of the first developments to actively reinforce those urban possibilities. Its incorporation of activities and facilities will support and encourage public use and pedestrian amenity.

Those amenities form part of the active ground floor of Midnight. Set below street level to create a sense of enclosure and focus, the main entry into this building of different uses contains cafe, dining, retail and hotel activities. In response to both its inherent qualities, and as a place to commence a light rail journey, this will become a great meeting space, a place of interchange and discourse, of relaxation and contemplation. A precinct for living, working, staying and visiting. A mix of uses not loudly declaring itself but instead revealing themselves as we enter and pass through the building.

Connected as it is to the hotel, the ground floor will have an internal dynamic which will sustain its presence through all hours of the day. Leading off from there into the site is a public courtyard, faced by a sculptural formation of hotel rooms. Intriguingly landscaped, lapped with still and falling water, this space will be a tightly composed place of light and shade like no other in Canberra. Set away from the bounding streets, this will create a connected public space in the very heart of this important site.

In this way the mixed-use buildings forming Midnight have been crafted to foster interaction through a multiplicity of uses whilst successfully separating those uses where needed.

The physical presence of the building responds to the different characters of its locale. The Northbourne Avenue face of the building is composed of large horizontally proportioned facade subdivisions in response to the urban scale, horizontal emphasis and axial nature of that street. By contrast the Mort Street face is composed of a series of elements of smaller scale, reflecting the grainy multiplicity of Braddon.

In between sits the Elouera Street face, bringing together aspects of both the Northbourne Avenue and Mort Street faces of the building and, in doing so, creating its own character of repose and reflection.

Midnight will represent a great diversity of living, staying, working and visiting opportunities in a place which will be an active reinforcement of the new public life of Northbourne Avenue and the presence of Braddon.

Charlotte Harper8:31 pm 20 Jan 17

We’ve received the following correction from Geocon:

“Maryann Mussared’s comments about the design of Midnight in Braddon are ill-informed. Firstly, it is a building in scale with its surrounds that will be the same height as the existing building it replaces. By no stretch of the imagination could it be described as “massive”. Secondly, how can it be asserted that Midnight will contribute to “overdevelopment” when there is already a building occupying much of the site? Finally, the development delivers 200 new public car spaces to Braddon (in addition to resident and hotel guest parking). Replacing a silent edifice and a windswept, private carpark with a vibrant new complex embracing its proximity to light rail and the Braddon precinct will add life and amenity to the area.”

I had been inside several of the much-reviled old guvvie apartments and townhouses on Northbourne, and recently was inside a new private one. The old ones looked ugly from the outside but were very functional inside, particularly the little three-level townhouse complex that I think dated from the 1950s. Given the choice, I would have preferred the old ones by far. The new apartment I visited was tiny, had low ceilings, and didn’t even have a full-length window in the living room. Canberrans are being ripped of by developers (and the government ) left right & centre …

Treelopper691:26 pm 20 Jan 17

Apartments on Northbourne, that’s an outrage! I say we leave the decrepit, derelict flats that swarmed the entrance to Canberra instead.

Alexandra Craig12:44 pm 20 Jan 17

Rollersk8r said :

Especially in an area like Wright you’re out in the middle of nowhere – with no amenities.

It’s only five minutes to Weston Creek. And surprisingly it’s quicker to get to work (Parl Triangle) from Molonglo than it was to get to work from Braddon. Apparently we are getting local shops at some point which will be convenient for when we run out of milk etc but other than that I haven’t really thought about it. Maybe I’m relaxed about these things but I guess if you buy in a new area you need to realise that it won’t have everything that you want straight away.

Alexandra, your first line actually highlights the issue here. Yes, it is only 5 minutes to Weston Creek – by car. If the whole point of building apartments is having a denser city where people don’t need to won or drive cars, then facilities within walking distance are needed.

I agree with you that not everything is always available right away, because businesses do take time to set up, but I’d argue that much of the problem comes down to the ongoing failure of the ACT Government to actually put infrastructure in place first. For example, 10 years ago, neither light rail or Wright existed in this city. Surely that was the perfect location to set up an entire suburb that didn’t necessarily need cars.

pink little birdie10:55 am 20 Jan 17

e) I would keep my car but live on the light rail and use the light rail for commuting if I worked in Civic.

Specifically we have chosen our last 3 houses close enough to work to walk/ride/single bus to work. It’s enabled us to go down to 1 car between my husband and I (on the 2 nights we needed 2 cars we arranged lifts for one of us)

It’s not a stretch to say the majority of people who use public transport for commuting to and from work also have cars.

Alexandra Craig10:45 am 20 Jan 17

I bought an apartment in Molonglo. I spent years looking for a house in Canberra and just couldn’t find anything within budget. I was buying on my own too so that alone limited what the bank would lend me. I really didn’t want to buy an apartment but realised after about two years of looking that as a first home buyer my options were buy an apartment or just don’t buy a home at all. Not entirely fair but I guess that’s the current state of the housing market.

One pro of buying where I did is that I have the nicest view ever! Rolling hills, the aboretum, black mountain. So pretty. Perhaps that view won’t exist in 10 years but with any luck I will have bought a house by then 🙂

I certainly understand the trade-off of apartment living vs a traditional house and yard, i.e. proximity to work and amenities like shopping centres, restaurants, cafes, the lake etc.

However, I cannot imagine anything worse that living in one of the apartment blokes in outer Gungahlin or the Molonglo areas. Especially in an area like Wright you’re out in the middle of nowhere – with no amenities.

“We don’t yet have the population to support a car-sharing venture like GoGet ….”

Or a tram to nowhere.

A good article, well done.

What I dont get is that on my stand alone house on a 846 sq m block in the burbs, my Annual Rates are about $2,500pa and going up rapidly. However, when I look to downsize, I find that the combination of Annual Rates and body Corporate fees on a unit/townhouse for those I’ve looked at, are well over $5K pa – and these are only average priced/quality developments, not Kingston Foreshore type locations.

In fact, the ACT Labor/Greens Govt has increased Annual Rates on units by 20% this fy and by 15% next fy. I just don’t see how that will encourage people to downsize into a cement jungle or facilitate affordable housing.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing suggestions.

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