Plans unveiled for 300 build-to-rent units and hotel next to Belconnen markets

The investment group behind the Belconnen Markets redevelopment has proposed a multi-storey build-to-rent and hotel project for the site next door.

Elanor Funds Management Limited has unveiled plans for Block 2 Section 198 on Ibbott Lane, which will add 300 rental apartments under a build-to-rent arrangement and a 50-room hotel to the Belconnen Town Centre.

It has begun public consultation ahead of lodging a development application for the project, which will complete its redevelopment of the markets site.

The project website says the 5165 sq metre CZ3 Services Zone site has had a sub-division recently approved with the proposed development located on the Ibbott Lane side of the block.

The proposed development comprises two separate L-shaped, six-storey buildings that also include an attic level, lower ground level and two basement levels. It will cover 4312 sq metres or nearly 77 per cent of the site.

These buildings will embrace a central landscaped plaza and courtyard with an entry path from a new laneway on the Markets side, called Market Lane, creating a thoroughfare through the development from the Markets to Ibbott Lane.

The hotel will consist of 10 rooms each on levels one to five.

Like many build-to-rent projects, a great deal of amenity is proposed for the tenants and hotel guests.

Over 2000 sq metres of retail is planned for the ground floor as well as waste collection facilities and service rooms.

The lower ground level will have healthcare facilities and a wellbeing centre, while the basement levels will house a gym, pool and cinema, as well as storage, services parking and other facilities.

The plans show a mix of one, one plus studio, two, three bedrooms and studio apartments across levels 1-5 and the attic level.

The bulk of the apartments will be one-bedroom plus studio (108), then 76 studios, 64 one-bedroom, 45 two-bedroom and seven three-bedroom dwellings. Thirty of them will be adaptable.

The proposal will provide 235 parking spaces across the two basement levels, including four for people with disabilities, 18 motorcycle spaces, 200 bicycle spaces for tenants and 11 for hotel guests, and 300 storage cages.

This development will be part of a cluster of mixed-use, multi-storey apartment developments next to the market site.

It follows the $280 million 10-storey, four-building Markets Residences under construction on the corner of Belconnen Way and Benjamin Way that will inject a further 313 apartments into the Town Centre.

Also coming is the $118 million Eden development on the Premier (Ramada) Inn site, which comprises 379 dwellings across four rectangular-shaped 10-storey buildings set in a garden precinct.

The Ibbott Lane project website says the proposed development continues to enhance and activate this important site within the Belconnen Town Centre.

“It provides a visually appealing building with strong linkages and permeability to the Markets site … with easy access to public transport,” it says.

The reimagined Capital Food Market, a $100 million European-style food hall and market hub, is expected to open by Christmas.

The build-to-rent proposal is also one of a number coming to market as a result of ACT Government policies and incentives to encourage the construction of more rental accommodation in the national capital, the second-most expensive capital in the country to rent a property.

To learn more about consultation, including a virtual information session, go to the project website.

The consultation runs until 24 October.

Elanor Investors Group is an ASX listed real estate fund management business, managing over $6.4 billion of real estate investments across Australia and New Zealand.

It bought the three-hectare Belconnen markets site in 2018 for $43.75 million, offloading the Ibbott Lane car park for $14 million in 2021.