29 October 2019

Zapari greens-up scaled-back plans for Coombs block

| Ian Bushnell
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The development on the corner of John Gorton Drive and Terry Connolly Avenue

A render from the Reconsideration shows a landscaped buffer between the development and neighbouring townhouses. Photo: Supplied.

Another rejected multi-unit development proposal in the Molonglo Valley has been resubmitted, with Zapari Group drastically revising its plans in response to community and planning authority concerns.

Zapari’s original proposal for the corner of John Gorton Drive and Terry Connolly Avenue in Coombs for an eight-storey, 212-apartment development has been scaled back to seven storeys and 149 apartments, with floor area more than halved and setbacks and green space increased.

ACTPLA knocked back the original proposal because of its size relative to the site, poor design, and overshadowing and privacy implications for neighbouring residences.

The maximum number of dwellings allowable on the site is still only 44 and Zapari is again seeking to vary the site’s crown lease to accommodate what would be a 239 per cent increase.

The Reconsideration says the rejection “prompted the developer and project team to create a building which will provide an exemplar level of residential amenity for its future residents and for the surrounding Coombs and Molonglo community”.

The central atrium

The central atrium that will provide natural light and cross ventilation.

The new design is inspired by nature, “mimicking the curves of a petal” with a central atrium to provide natural light and cross ventilation, an orientation that achieves three hours of direct sunlight to 72 per cent of units (above the Territory standard of 70 per cent), and a green roof including spas, garden beds, barbecue area and seating.

The atrium will also have a water feature.

The smaller footprint will allow more green space, with a pocket park forming a buffer between the proposed building and the neighbouring townhouses, and allow for landscaping and deep-rooted trees.

The green roof with water features

The green roof will have spas, garden beds, barbecue area and seating.

The building also includes open-ended glazed corridors to allow more natural light into the building.

The new proposal also hopes to address privacy and shadowing concerns, apartments directly adjacent on Block 2 Section 12 to have above the minimum required three hours of direct sunlight to main living areas during the winter solstice.

The plan says privacy between unscreened elements of Block 2 and the proposed building will range from 16 metres to more than 30 metres, and the interface between them will also be vastly improved with the landscaped buffer between the two buildings.

Zapari sees it as a landmark building

Zapari sees the proposal as a landmark building.

“The scale, composition and articulation have been carefully considered to ensure that it presents as a sophisticated outcome to John Gorton Drive and its surrounding neighbourhood,” the plans say.

This new proposal comes after POD Projects’ plans for the corner of Arthur Blakely Way and Colbung Street in Coombs have been rejected twice and submitted for a third time, with little change.

It wants to build a 107-unit development on a block that has a 40-dwelling limit.

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