Geocon's controversial Wova development in Woden has been given the green light, with construction of the 24-storey marker building to start next year.
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The $400 million Wova is four buildings, with about 800 apartments, on the former Woden Tradies Club site, which Geocon bought last year for $16 million. The existing hotel building and club will be demolished.
On Thursday, the ACT planning and land authority approved the developer's proposal with some changes.
ACT chief planner Ben Ponton said the amended development application was approved with conditions.
“The changes provide an excellent outcome for the community as well as the developer,” Mr Ponton said.
“Following 109 representations from the community on the original application, the developers reduced the building height and mass fronting on to Melrose Drive and increased the height of the building fronting Furzer Street."
The approved plans will still allow four buildings, ranging from 12 to 24 storeys. A building to front Melrose Drive has been reduced from 16 to 12 storeys and bigger setbacks have been imposed for two buildings fronting Furzer Street, a change the planning authority said would mean "a marginal improvement to overshadowing" but primarily would "improve the scale and form of the building". Earlier changes from Geocon had reduced overshadowing of the nearby Bellerive apartments. Geocon will also be required to provide more information on the amount of sunlight to reach the apartments.
The four buildings are: A 24-storey "marker building", at 76.5 metres tall, which was moved to the back corner of Furzer and Launceston Street; a 16-storey building at 54 metres; a 13 storey building at 40 metres; and a 12-storey building at 42.5 metres.
Mr Ponton said the changes provided a considerable improvement to the overshadowing impacts of the development.
Geocon managing director Nick Georgalis said the main change was to reduce the height of buildings fronting Melrose Drive following feedback from the community and the ACT government's design review panel.
"We worked with the community and with the government and accommodated a lot of their requests and changes so we're very pleased that we're able to deliver this for the Woden town centre," Mr Georgalis said.
"We're always pretty excited when a development gets approved because we have a lot of exciting projects happening in Canberra but this is certainly is another big project for the Woden town centre and is much needed."
The development will also have about 2650 square metres of commercial space on the ground floor. It will have about 1160 car parking spaces in basement and ground-level parking.
Woden Valley Community Council president Fiona Carrick said the group welcomed the development but wanted it to be "done well".
"While we still have concerns about the size and scale of this development, we acknowledge the improvements that reduce the overshadowing of the Bellerive Retirement Village and the condition to improve the facade," Ms Carrick said.
Mr Georgalis said prices were still being finalised, but the development was aimed at first home buyers, owner occupiers and downsizers, and investors. Prices would start at $375,000.
Geocon operates almost entirely in Canberra but has the market virtually cornered, with apartment buildings in construction or planning in the city at two sites, and in Belconnen, where the company has already built the giant Wayfarer. It is now the fourth-largest residential multi-unit builder/developer in Australia.
It started construction on 906 dwellings last year - all in multi-unit developments - with 856 in the ACT and 50 in a hotel across the border in Murrumbateman.
When asked whether the same offer would be made for the Wova development, Mr Georgalis said he could not comment but said he didn't believe it would happen.
