13 July 2020

Northbourne Flats site in Braddon sold for $28 million

| Ian Bushnell
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This aerial photo shows the Northbourne Flats sites. The Braddon Place site is on the left. Photo: File.

Another piece of the Northbourne Avenue corridor’s urban renewal program is coming into play after the sale of the former Northbourne Flats site in Braddon for $28 million to developer JW Land.

The 15,607 square metre site (Block 4, Section 60) was originally released for sale by tender in 2018 along with the Turner side of the Flats but the buyer failed to meet the reserve price and it was taken off the market.

The Suburban Land Agency sold the site – bordered by Northbourne Avenue and Haig Park and marketed as Braddon Place – after the Agency’s recent first online auction.

Up to 602 dwellings can be built on the site, but the developer will be required to include 10 community housing and 80 affordable housing units in the mix. As it fronts Northbourne Avenue, the development can be 25 metres high.

The CZ5 site was pitched as an exciting mixed-use development opportunity for its proximity to the evolving hospitality precinct of Braddon, connections to the CBD and location on the light rail route.

As part of the City and Gateway Urban design framework, the development must adhere to specific design conditions, provide sustainability features, quality private and public realms, active ground floors and take a people-focused approach.

The Suburban Land Agency said the sale demonstrated confidence in the ACT commercial market.

“The Suburban Land Agency is working to ensure mixed-use developments are part of Canberra’s busy districts. The city is growing rapidly and the commercial, residential and community opportunities of significant development sites are within fast-growing urban areas in major commercial precincts,” Suburban Land Agency Chief Executive Officer John Dietz said.

“The sale of Northbourne’s Braddon site will certainly contribute to Canberra’s good urban design. As part of the gateway to our city, it’s a wonderful opportunity for a liveable and vibrant place with quality public domain and buildings.”

The Agency said the site would provide a rich social mix as well as a significant public benefit and a development that contributed to the activity and vitality of the precinct.

It said the successful sale of Braddon Place also boded well for the Macarthur on Northbourne tender which draws to a close on 13 August.

The site is on the corner of Northbourne and Macarthur Avenues and offered a similar scale of development with up to 424 dwellings including 50 for affordable housing, the Agency said.

The Agency also recently sold a Phillip site (Block 2, Section 180) to the Doma Group for $12.5 million, and there was strong interest in its Taylor sites with all blocks now under offer.

“We are extremely pleased with these recent sales and we are confident they will contribute to achieving quality development outcomes across Canberra,” Mr Dietz said.

The bigger Turner site remains unsold and is unlikely to go to market for some time.

JW Land is also developing Founders Lane in the city, and Embark on Northbourne Avenue in Lyneham. It also developed Campbell 5.

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