23 March 2018

Buyers rush Grand Central Towers development in Woden

| Ian Bushnell
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An artist’s impression of the Grand Central Towers development at 15 Bowes Street.

Strong demand for the $200 million Grand Central Towers development in Woden has seen the ACT sales record for a single night smashed, according to joint developers Geocon and Zapata.

The development at 15 Bowes Street in Phillip consists of 429 apartments across two towers, 18 and 26 storeys, with retail space at ground level. Building will commence this year and the first residents are due to move in by late 2020.

Buyers snapped up more than $100 million worth of property at a special sales event on Thursday night, including a penthouse for $1.5 million, Geocon said.

It said the development’s proximity to the proposed Stage 2 of the light rail line was a key factor in the property’s appeal.

“We knew there was strong interest as we prepared to bring this development to market but this result has exceeded even our expectations,” Geocon Managing Director Nick Georgalis said.

“Selling 250 units, including a penthouse and 100 per cent of the commercial spaces is a phenomenal outcome not just for us, but for the whole of Woden. It’s the true start of Woden’s renaissance.”

Zapari managing director Nick Skepev said that the development had been designed to integrate as a transport hub, specifically with light rail, and people saw the potential.

“Buyers love that Woden is all about living in a central location with fantastic amenities and multiple transport options,” he said.

“We had a vision to be at the forefront of Woden’s rejuvenation and to transform the Woden we know today and the number of sales tonight show that buyers share that vision. It is a fantastic result.”

Geocon, which this week had its huge Republic mixed development in Belconnen approved, also has the WOVA (WOden reVAmped) development in train, proposing four buildings, including a 24-storey tower, on the one hectare site of the Woden Tradies Club.

The Grand Central Towers result also impressed the Woden Valley Community Council, which had expressed concerns about overshadowing from the development and its size but saw the demand as a spur to further Government investment in community facilities to support the coming influx of new residents into the area.

“Amazing sales result at the bus interchange,” WVCC posted on Facebook. “We call on the ACT Government to commit to a community hub and work with the Woden community to determine the future site for a 50m pool in the Woden Town Centre area. The existing site could then become the new National Ice Centre.”

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Geocon has clearly signaled they want to do to the Woden Town Centre what they did to the Belconnen Town Centre. Anyone in any doubt on the merits of such a plan should have a close look at Belconnen today.

What exactly am I supposed to be looking at? The Wayfarer? It’s certainly no more of an eyesore than the 70s era brutalist monstrosities that line Benjamin Way.

Woden Valley Community Council9:47 pm 25 Mar 18

The Woden Valley Community Council acknowledges population growth and environmental impacts are leading to densification in our town centres.
Fundamental planning principles should ensure that people are at the forefront of changes to our town centre. These include planning for jobs, the built form (mixed building heights with taller slender buildings on appropriate sites), great public spaces to meet, bike paths connecting the suburbs to the town centre, services and community facilities.
Woden is centrally located with duplicated roads that provide bus rapid transit from surrounding districts. With a population of around 70,000 across the electorate, Woden should be thriving, however facilities have closed, including the CIT, basketball stadium, the pool is at risk and we have never had a community/cultural hub.
These important non-profit social facilities are usually subsidised by capital and operating government grants. They have health benefits by bringing community’s together, providing opportunities for mentoring relationships and reducing social isolation. While Woden is accessible by public transport, we are driving to other districts for our social and recreational activity.
In response to correspondence from the WVCC, the Chief Minister advised ‘that community facilities may be developed within the commercial land uses that exist in the Woden Town Centre. The master plan recommends that new community facilities be delivered as part of a mixed use development, rather than a standalone facility’.
Woden has experienced the loss of community facilities owned by the private sector so we are interested in the arrangements and incentives that will be put in place to secure these assets for the communities long term use.
We ask the Government to implement its 2017-18 Budget commitment to develop an urban renewal strategy along with the business case for light rail to Woden.
Don’t let Woden slip through the cracks and become a dormitory district.

Capital Retro6:42 pm 25 Mar 18

I find it hard to believe that someone prepared to pay $1.5 million for a unit in Woden would be motivated to do that by the promise of a tram to Gungahlin via Canberra City.

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