ApartmentsChris ThomsonSun 17 May 26
Lakeside Luxury Replaces Bigger BtR in Changed Canberra Plan
A developer has spec’d up—and ditched 248 apartments from—a six-storey residential project primed to rise by the banks of Canberra’s Lake Ginninderra.
Manuka-based SAP Canberra, directed by Shane Anderson, has submitted revised plans for a 252-apartment project, down from 500 homes initially proposed in 2023.
Dubbed The Lawson after the suburb it is planned for (which in turn is named after 1890s bush poet Henry Lawson), the project over the past three years has transformed from a build-to-rent scheme to a luxury apartment development.
The Lawson has been floated for a 9371sq m vacant and unvegetated site beside Lake Ginninderra in the northern Canberra district of Belconnen.
Planned to rise on the corner of Tenterfield Avenue and Cambaroora Street beside busy Ginninderra Drive, the project would have four buildings up to six storeys in height.
After a public comment period that started in early 2023, a 500-apartment proposal for the site was downsized to 406 homes in 2024 and later reduced to 353 and then 254 units.
In further revised plans open for public comment until May 27, SAP Canberra has now applied to reduce the number of apartments to 252.
The company also wants to remove a basement level, change the dwelling mix, reconfigure the inside of units and the siting of buildings and update material finishes among other amendments.
Designed by the Fender Katsalidis architecture firm, The Lawson promises to blend private apartments with a high-end health club that the project’s promotional material says will rival premier resort retreats.
Aligned with that promise are the complex’s planned outdoor cinema, whiskey lounge, cafe, infrared saunas, Finnish saunas, cold plunge pools and rooftop infinity pool.
The project’s plans envisage four residential buildings arranged around a central terraced courtyard.
Construction is slated to start this year.
The Urban Developer contacted SAP Canberra for comment for this story.
