Lendlease, Suburban Land Agency start negotiations for sale of Gold Creek Homestead

Lendlease and the Suburban Land Agency have entered negotiations for the Gungahlin Drive site, with contracts expected to be exchanged by June.

The Gold Creek Homestead was put to market in June last year after a community panel was created to determine what the future of the site should be.

Lendlease Retirement Living managing director Nathan Cockerill said the homestead would be retained, restored and activated, under its proposal.

"The homestead will be a central focus of the development, along with new retirement homes and a residential aged care facility," he said.

The homestead is not heritage listed but the Suburban Land Agency had indicated it would favour those who opted to keep it.

The historic homestead takes up about 8000 square meters of the 4.8 hectare site and was first built in 1860.

There have been several attempts to put the homestead on the ACT Heritage Register which have failed.

Suburban Land Agency senior development manager Petra Oswald said the Lendlease proposal was also the strongest contender in its plan to incorporate community space.

"They have responded the best from all the tenderers to the community's Precinct Development Brief," she said.

"That had elements to retain the character of the place as a rural oasis, to create a caring place for the community and offer facilities for various groups of the community to come together."

Lendlease also own the neighbouring retirement village, The Grove.

"We'll also be focused on connecting the precinct seamlessly to the surrounding area, including The Grove retirement village," Mr Cockerill said.

He said the final design would be subject to extensive community consultation and the masterplan would be created after negotiations with the government.

"Our vision for this precinct is for it to be a place that encourages interaction between people of all ages and those living within and around the homestead," Mr Cockerill said.

"This will be a place where residents can enjoy the best years of their lives and be reassured that they will be supported and cared for, even if their needs change."

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Ms Oswald said Lendlease would be required to conduct community consultation throughout the process and the final land sale wouldn't be completed until the development application was approved.

From the exchange of contracts, she expected a design and planning phase of 12 to 18 months.

The site was earlier put up for sale in 2018, but was taken off the market just two months later.

At the time, Suburban Land Agency chief executive John Dietz said it was "important that the future of the site is able to strike a balance which considers both social and economic benefit for the community".

A community panel then created the Precinct Development Brief which accounted for 50 per cent of the panel's decision.

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