11 May 2016

Manuka Oval redevelopment scaled back

| Michael Reid
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Manuka development

The redevelopment of the Manuka Oval precinct will include fewer apartments than initially proposed and a promise by developers to protect heritage buildings, including the historic Manuka pool.

It was announced on Wednesday that plans to redevelop the area have been scaled back after community consultations by AFL club GWS Giants and developer Grocon.

Under the plan now being considered by the ACT Government, the Giants and Grocon would spend $100 million upgrading Canberra’s Manuka Oval in exchange for being allowed to develop property in the area.

The revised bid includes 650 new apartments, down from the 1,000 originally envisaged, 270 more parking spaces than the first proposal, and a guarantee that heritage buildings in the area would remain untouched.

GWS Giants chief operating officer Richard Griffiths said the revisions showed the bidders were listening to community concerns.

“We’ve had some very positive feedback, constructive feedback, and we’ve incorporated that into a revised concept,” he said.

“We’re here to suggest and to demonstrate to the community and all the stakeholders that we have in fact listened.”

Grocon representative David Waldron said although some elements of the proposal had been scaled back, works to upgrade the oval itself would not be affected.

“The fundamental importance of the proposal … is to develop land around the oval to allow an upgrade of the oval,” he said.

“That is an absolute given – whilst the project has changed in extent, that given has not.”

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