The re-lodged plans for a $56 million residential and commercial complex next to Woolworths Dickson have been given a D grade by a leading town planner who said they lacked innovation.
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Jane Goffman, who is also the Dickson Residents Group convener, criticised the aesthetics and "performance" of the planned Coles and Doma Group construction, despite acknowledging the developers' willingness to make major changes after the initial plans were rejected by the Planning and Land Authority last year.
"I would give an A to this developer for outstanding effort, they've taken the criticisms on board, they've adapted the plans in a range of reasonably beneficial ways, given the parameters and the constraints they were given by this government to shoehorn two supermarkets and a minimum of 100 units on a tight corner and difficult site," she said.
"[But] I think we end up with a D, because what we get is disappointing and we could have got so much more."
Ms Goffman, who received a briefing from developers on Thursday night, says there was nothing imaginative or inspiring about the updated plans filed with ACTPLA this week, with no production spots for residents to grow vegetables or capturing of solar energy.
She said vehicle congestion on the service road on the north-west corner of the Dickson Library was to be expected because of the design of the single lane exit from the underground carpark, which would have 467 parks. The aesthetics of the outer corners of the building fronting Antill Street could have been significantly better, she said.
"What we have now is a development that passes the rules, it ticks the precinct code, but that's all it does," she said.
"This is in many ways a development that is stuck in the 1990s."
North Canberra Community Council chair Mike Hettinger, who was briefed on Friday, said the new plans were probably a step in the right direction although traffic issues remained likely.
"They didn't fundamentally change the entry/exit setup," he said.
"In the talk back and forth, when we said 'why can't you do this or that', a lot of it seemed to go back to what they were told to do by the government, including limits by TAMS."
Apartments, which were cut from 155 to 140, were designed more for short-term tenants than owner-occupiers, he said.
Mr Hettinger said Canberra-based developer Doma Group had been invited to speak at the next council meeting on March 15.
Both Ms Goffman and Mr Hettinger said it was important the planned temporary carpark for the site north of the pool was not made permanent.
A Coles spokeswoman said the developers were eager to provide residents with an enhanced shopping and dining destination while also creating local jobs.
She said community feedback and public submissions had been taken on board in the modified plans.
Changes to the loading dock – backed by Ms Goffman – would improve its appearance, while a pedestrian and vehicle shared zone would better connect the development with the Dickson Group Centre, the spokeswoman said.
Rain water collection was provided for the podium landscaping.
Ms Goffman said the new substantive application was only available to those who objected to the first plans, however the developers were not opposed to publication and she had given a copy of the new plans to the Dickson Library to be put on display.
