Plans lodged for affordable rental project on Turner PCYC site

Plans for a 55-apartment community housing project to be built on the old Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) site in Turner have been submitted for approval.

The project – a partnership between PCYC, community housing provider CHC and the Snow Foundation – was announced last May.

The four-storey proposal includes 45 affordable apartments, which will be aimed at essential workers and let at below market rent, 10 supportive housing units for people aged 16-24 on fixed incomes, and a social enterprise cafe.

The project has the backing of the ACT Government’s $60 million Affordable Housing Project Fund and will transform the 2545-square-metre Watson Street site, at present a derelict building and former car park.

The ground floor comprises a cafe and courtyard, a consulting room, an accessible toilet, a common room, a communal courtyard and 12 residential apartments, eight of which will be one-bedroom designs, with the remaining four to be two-bedroom offerings.

The first floor provides 15 apartments – eight with one bedroom and seven with two – while the second and third floors will each have four one-bedroom units and 10 with two bedrooms.

All apartments will have private open space in the form of an outdoor courtyard on the ground and balconies above.

The all-electric building will feature energy-efficient lighting, appliances, and HVAC systems to minimise energy use and emissions, as well as natural ventilation and efficient insulation to reduce heating and cooling needs.

The roof has capacity for photovoltaic panels that will be connected to individual dwelling meters for flexibility. It is expected that battery storage will be added.

Parking will be provided in a one-level basement with 59 spaces, three short of requirements. However, the development application (DA) says the site is less than 100 metres from the city centre, where there are no minimum parking requirements for residential use and visitor parking is available in surrounding streets and public car parks.

The cafe will be staffed by residents and cater to local businesses, and is not expected to need any parking spaces.

Vehicles will access the basement from McKay Lane.

A service lane down the eastern side of the allotment, next to the George Turner Offices, will pass through the site between McKay Gardens and McKay Lane.

Landscaping includes deep planting zones within the setback area for larger shade trees, prioritising the north and west sides of the building to reduce urban heat impacts.

Canberra PCYC president Peter Macfarlane said at the project launch that the organisation had wanted to make use of the derelict site for years to do some good for the community.

Mr Macfarlane said the project would not only give young people at risk a roof over their heads but also provide a revenue stream for PCYC to fund programs for the young people it served.

He said the cafe would also provide young people with work experience and hospitality training.

The partnership with CHC and the Snow Foundation had been critical in getting the project off the ground.

CHC CEO Andrew Hannan said the 45 affordable units would be let at about 75 per cent of market rent, while the tenants of the 10 supportive housing units, expected to be on youth allowance or fixed government benefits, would pay a percentage of their income.

Lease variations to remove the concessional status and allow residential and ancillary uses have already been approved, as has a demolition application.

The DA can be commented on until 13 March.