Canberra Housing Precinct on Former AFP Site Moves Ahead

Village Building Company has filed plans to subdivide a former Australian Federal Police training site as it makes another bid to get under way on its long-awaited Fetherston project.

The application seeks to divide the 6ha site at Weston in the ACT into four blocks, ranging from about 3000sq m to 37,057 square metres.

Bounded by Streeton Drive, and Heysen and Unwin streets, the sloping site is 9km from Canberra’s CBD and next to land owned by the Australian National University and the Fetherston Gardens.

The company acquired the site in 2017 for $30 million. An initial development proposal was rejected in 2019, partly due to concerns around tree removal and excessive density.

The ACT Planning Authority then approved the overall medium-density development plan (337 homes across 26 buildings, including apartments and townhouses) in May of last year,

Soon after, Village announced staged construction would begin this year.

Initially estimated to cost $140 million, that figure is expected to rise due to increased construction and supply expenses.

Despite previous development attempts being rejected by the Planning Authority, and subsequently lost on appeal at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal among other setbacks, Village Building Company chief executive Travis Doherty said the group would “remain committed to the site”.

The project, designed by Stewart Architecture, would comprise 337 homes across 26 buildings, and includes three-storey apartment buildings fronting Streeton Drive, a boutique apartment offering near Heysen Street, and 121 townhouses throughout the site.

The homes would be a mix of two-to-three-storey townhouses with basement and under-croft parking facilities.

“It’s a terrific location within walking distance to the Weston Group Centre and accessible to the major employment hubs of Woden Town Centre and Civic,” Doherty said.

▲ The homes are expected to be in high demand in the sought-after suburb.

The development would incorporate environmentally sustainable features including solar panels integrated into home designs, electric vehicle charging stations, and stormwater reuse for landscape irrigation.

The company plans to plant more than 400 trees and create six landscaped pocket parks.

The Weston Community Council had objected to the original plans it rejected in 2019 due to the “row upon row of parallel townhouses”.

The revised design includes more open space and better integration with the surrounding area.

Village expects the project to take three years to complete across four development stages.

The medium-density development aligns with the ACT Government’s push for “missing middle” housing options, and the homes are expected to be in high demand due to their location in a sought-after suburb.