18 December 2020

Second Woolies for Dickson as construction starts on DKSN Stage 2

| Ian Bushnell
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DKSN Stage 2

An artist’s impression of DKSN Stage 2, including the Woolworths Metro store and ”eat street”. Images: Supplied.

Dickson will have another Woolworths supermarket with developers of the final stage of the DKSN mixed-use urban renewal project securing the retail giant as a tenant.

Construction has officially started on the $160 million project, which will include a smaller-scale Woolworths Metro store, the second to be opened in Canberra.

The Dickson supermarket is one of the busiest in Canberra and with the expected population increase in the Northbourne area, there will be increasing demand for retail.

Pitched as the first ‘full-offering’ precinct on Canberra’s light-rail corridor, DKSN will boast a mix of amenities including restaurants and cafes, a 90-space childcare facility, a large medical centre, the supermarket and a gym, all organised around a network of pedestrian laneways and green plazas.

Being developed on the site of the former Dickson Motor Registry, the project’s final stage includes 205 apartments, 4,600 square metres of commercial office space and 4,700 square metres of retail space including a bustling ‘eat street’.

The completed Stage 1 of the DKSN precinct includes 102 apartments and a 13,200 square metre ACT Government office now occupied with various commercial tenancies in the final stage of fit-out.

Wider view of the DKSN Stage 2

A wider view of the DKSN Stage 2 development.

Englobo group director John Susa says the commencement of construction on the final stage of the project reflects strong demand for residential apartments and commercial space.

“Demand has exceeded our expectations with strong interest in Stage 2 apartments triggering the commencement of construction,” he said.

“In addition, we’re seeing demand from a mix of great commercial tenants who see the potential for this precinct to develop into a vibrant hub.

“I’m incredibly pleased to confirm that Woolworths have confirmed their intention to open a Woolworths Metro store and this adds to a very strong line-up of hospitality and service-based businesses who will call DKSN home.”

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DOMA Group general manager development Gavin Edgar said the demand for residential apartments had been particularly strong over recent months and credits the Australian Government’s HomeBuilder program with stimulating confidence in the market.

“Enquiry for apartments at DKSN has outstripped our expectations with around 50 per cent of the final stage sold in recent months,” he said.

“We’re seeing around half of all purchasers using the HomeBuilder program to smooth their entry to homeownership.

“I think it’s fair to say that in this case a strong product and this additional support from the government has combined to deliver a very strong outcome which has seen us move to the construction phase sooner than what may have otherwise been possible.”

First-home buyer Dominic De Marco moved into DKSN a few months ago and says the location and plans for a mixed-use precinct together with current incentives made the choice easy.

“I’ve been looking at getting into the market for a while and when I saw what was planned at DKSN I knew I wanted to be part of it,” he said.

“Dickson has always had appeal to me but the amenity offered in the DKSN precinct itself and its proximity to transport links and the city really sold me.”

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So many whinging and complaining about planning failures.

Two simple facts, the new supermarket is a small one in one of the apartment buildings and the style of it will only suit those that live in said developments. There is a new Woolworths at Belconnen in a similar vane it is not intended to be a replacement for the existing one and for the most part is of not much use to anyone who lives in the adjacent blocks.

Fact two Dickson needs another major supermarket the appropriate place for that is in the shopping centre not on the apartment buildings. One or two were planned but of course vested interests have delayed and substantially changed that development.

Threads like this go to show that no matter what happens people will whinge and call it a planning failure.

ChrisinTurner5:40 pm 20 Dec 20

Dickson needs an ALDI rather than a second Woolies. Wasn’t one promised?

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