Bulum Group pauses commercial plans for 20 Farrer Street, looks at residential development instead

In December 2022, the developer opened public consultation on a proposal for 78 serviced apartments on half of the block at 20 Farrer Street, opposite Ainslie School in Braddon.

But the group will not submit a development application for the newly unveiled plans, saying it will instead propose a residential development.

In public consultation sessions conducted through December, it became apparent "a good section of the community" favoured a residential development, planning agency Purdon wrote in an email on behalf of Bulum Group.

"There can be no doubt that a good section of the community in this area feel strongly about maintaining the residential setting along Farrer Street and we heard through several sessions that many people favoured some of the previous schemes that Bulum Group consulted on 3-4 years ago," Purdon wrote in the email, seen by The Canberra Times.

"Accordingly, Bulum Group has opted to pause this DA process to allow further investigation and engagement with ACT Planning on a feasible development on the site."

READ MORE:

The site is currently zoned as a Leisure and Accommodation Zone (CZ6), meaning the group will need to apply for a Territory Plan Variation to rezone it to facilitate medium- or high-density residential development.

This process is likely to take up to two years, Purdon wrote.

The second half of the block, fronting Elder Street, is approved to host a childcare centre, with community consultation due to begin soon.

There are no plans to rezone that section of the site, the planning agency wrote in its email.

Farrer Street resident Daniel Green said the commercial proposal had been "very concerning", but the change of plans had not appeased locals.

"I think generally everybody saw it for what it was, which was that there was a large amount of community backlash over the proposed commercial accommodation," Mr Green said.

"And this is just a different tact to try to see if they're able to get the development through by another means."

Locals are concerned about the traffic impacts of a medium- or high-density development, as well as the development of a site formerly zoned for community facilities.

Nik Bulum purchased the former Canberra Bowls Club block in 2015 from the Ainslie Group, and the following year revealed intentions to build a "vibrant community hub" featuring a restaurant, new resort-style pool, free outdoor cinema, day spa and boutique hotel.

Mr Bulum also opened a temporary hospitality venture at the site, offering 80s inspired cuisine, drinks and entertainment.

He had previously rolled out this model successfully on Lonsdale Street, running a collective of food vans known as "The Hamlet", before developing the site into the Branx building.

However, plans for the Farrer Street site faced fierce community opposition and stalled until December last year, with no activity at the site since the closure of the Canberra City Bowls Club in 2018.

Mr Bulum was contacted for comment but did not respond in time for the publication of this article.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.