Gold Creek Country Club is moving ahead with its plan to redevelop a portion of its golf course into hundreds of homes, in a bid to remain financially viable.
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Konstantinou Group, the owner of the 88-hectare site in Nicholls through its company Gungahlin Golf Investments, has submitted a series of development applications for the project.
The group intends to spend more than $330 million over 10 years on the project, application documents reveal.
Plans include building about 700 build-to-rent homes on an "underutilised" portion of the golf course land that the group says would not impact the operations of the existing 18-hole golf course.
The group hopes the development will provide "a revenue stream that can be reinvested into the operation of the golf course", a consultation website for the project states.
After several years of planning, the proposal has now been submitted to the ACT planning authority in eight development applications, one for each stage of the project.
Over about a decade, the group intend to build a variety of housing types, including multi-storey buildings with apartments of up to four bedrooms and terrace-style townhouses.
The first stage would include 68 two- to three-level townhouses and apartments, plus basement parking. Construction on the first stage would begin in 2026 if the application is successful.
The second stage includes 128 units, followed by 85 units in the third stage.
The remaining units would be built across the later stages, with a restaurant and indoor recreation facilities included in the final stage.
Shops and communal amenities such as barbecues and play areas are proposed, as is a new access road from Curran Drive.
Build-to-rent to appeal to downsizers
On its consultation website, the development is described as providing high-quality commercial accommodation options in response to "the current shortage of rental accommodation in Canberra".
"Currently there are limited apartments within Nicholls, and the proposed development creates approximately 700 quality dwellings, located amongst maintained mature trees, with access to communal facilities," the website states.
The development would also offer alternative housing to allow downsizers to stay in the suburb, it said.
The group intends to maintain ownership of the rental properties long term, but says it would not consider accessing the ACT government's build-to-rent incentive scheme as the development would not include affordable housing.
The land is currently zoned PRZ2 for restricted access recreation, which allows for commercial accommodation including a motel. The group will propose that build-to-rent is best characterised under the definition of a motel.
On the consultation website, the owner states it has not proposed to change the zoning of the land and currently has no plans to do so in the future.
It is however seeking to subdivide the existing lease into two and has proposed to change the location of the development area currently allowed under the lease, to move it further away from existing nearby homes.
Building heights, loss of green space among concerns
Konstantinou Group purchased the golf course site from the ACT government in 2005 for $3 million.
Plans for redevelopment have been on the cards for some years and have been through different iterations.
In 2018, the group engaged the community to provide feedback on its initial development ideas.
The plans were met with loud community backlash, including from owners of homes which back onto the golf course who were worried about the value of their land.
Konstantinou Group went back to the community in mid-2023 with revised plans that aimed to "balance the wishes of the community to not build on the existing golf holes, while also diversifying the infrastructure on the site to increase its commercial viability", the consultation report states.
More than 450 pieces of feedback were provided by 70 people and one representative body, the Community of Nicholls Residents Group.
The feedback included concerns about the number of homes, building heights, zoning use and loss of green space.
Public comments on the eight development applications close on December 11.