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The covers have come off the concept designs for the redevelopment of the Canberra Theatre Centre as the consortium to undertake the project was revealed.The ACT government announced Architectus, Henning Larsen and Arup have been engaged as design and technical partner for the redevelopment and expansion of the theatre.The project will include the adaptive re-use of the existing Canberra Theatre as a multi-purpose space for performances, concerts and events, as well as a new theatre building with a 2000-seat facility, the refurbishment of the Playhouse theatre and the expansion of the courtyard studio.&nbsp;The government said the winning consortium “envisions a vibrant, multi-event, inclusive venue designed in consultation with First Nations peoples as per the ACT government’s brief”.“Architects were asked to create designs that were supportive and inclusive of people with disabilities and those of the LGBTIQ+ community,” the government said.The team’s winning tender included early preliminary designs depicting a new theatre building with a bold and sophisticated façade treatment, which references the formal modernist and brutalist landmarks of Canberra.<div id="20QCXKREU00Tq8OSDX6cVv"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2LBhx8BRt4GdwXUfw7Jx6x/7fe794a55512db2b05897041547ffd7b/Mid_article_resizes__4_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2LBhx8BRt4GdwXUfw7Jx6x/7fe794a55512db2b05897041547ffd7b/Mid_article_resizes__4_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A concept render of the new 2000-seat theatre. </div></div>Dr Stephen Long from Architectus said the consortium would establish a local office and incorporate insights from theatre users and other technical experts in the design process.“Together with Henning Larsen and Arup, we’re honoured to be selected from the impressive line-up of international practices that were shortlisted,” he said.“Our collective will play a key role in fuelling the creative spirit of Canberra by designing a world-class experience for the city’s thriving Canberra Civic and Cultural District.”Henning Larsen partner Viggo Haremst&nbsp;said “our design ambition is for the centre to become a national landmark and an international destination, drawing artists and audiences from around the world to Canberra’s new cultural heart”.“Together with Architectus and Arup, we’ve approached the design with great care considering the architecture, interior design and landscaping to create a vibrant and inclusive place that honours the history and beauty of the land.”<div id="4Ykqw6txOBNgXVcTqRSkkT"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/21HJgqZLg3mbVkiA7IiHUD/9ad27068441289cb618060a82c7519ed/Canberra-Theatre-Centre-with-render-2400x1395.jpeg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/21HJgqZLg3mbVkiA7IiHUD/9ad27068441289cb618060a82c7519ed/Canberra-Theatre-Centre-with-render-2400x1395.jpeg"></picture></div>

The covers have come off designs for the redevelopment of the Canberra Theatre Centre as the consortium to undertake the project was revealed...

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A scathing review of the 1700km Inland Rail project has revealed massive cost blowouts, lengthy delays and a management team without the necessary skills for the job.The document says the cost of the federally funded project—which will build a continuous freight line from Queensland to Victoria—has almost doubled in the past two years, and now tallies $31.4 billion.However, the report by Australia’s former Energy Security Board chairperson Dr Kerry Schott says those costs may escalate further given its exact route is still not confirmed.Dr Schott found the project had begun without clear end dates and budgets.“Somewhat surprisingly the project has commenced delivery without knowing where it will start or finish,” she said in the report.The review found only 16 per cent of the track has been completed thus far, and questioned whether the board managing the project had adequate skills for the job.There were, for example, no suitable members on the previous board who had expertise in logistics, freight or rail and infrastructure. And, the report says, there had not been a “substantive” chief executive in nearly two years.When the former Coalition government was told of the lack of skills, Dr Schott said, the advice was “not heeded”.<div id="3W7sfyRiI6InU1X3ejetX9"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/25aTljgSTLl7sL5qOLcpvU/50d91ea20edef0cf877da5b68fd873d6/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/25aTljgSTLl7sL5qOLcpvU/50d91ea20edef0cf877da5b68fd873d6/3.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The Federal government says it is committed to the inland rail project. </div></div>Despite the criticisms, the Albanese government remains committed to the project.“We will act sensibly and responsibly to ensure this important project is put back on track,” finance minister Senator Katy Gallagher said in a joint statement with infrastructure minister Catherine King.King’s department has been given 19 recommendations to get the project back on track, including enhancing governance arrangements, further assessing the scope and cost of the project, maximising regional opportunities along the rail line and developing intermodal terminals in Melbourne and Brisbane.Ebeneezer, a locality with a population of about 300 in the City of Ipswich and about 48km south-west of Brisbane, is a likely end-terminal in Queensland, but is still to be confirmed.In Victoria, the report makes clear, two freight terminals are long overdue on the capital’s periphery.A Victorian government spokesperson was equally clear, telling&nbsp;The Urban Developer that Truganina, about 20km west of Melbourne, and Beveridge, 35km north, were both needed “to deliver better outcomes for Victorian businesses and the community”.The Victorian government included $6.1 million in its 2022-23 budget for planning of the Western Interstate Freight Terminal (WIFT) as the priority location.That western site in Truganina will move the bulk of the state’s interstate rail freight activity away from the existing Dynon precinct to the outer west, removing thousands of daily truck movements from Melbourne’s western residential communities.Truganina would also provide closer access to the hundreds of warehousing and logistics businesses in Melbourne’s outer west, at a time when <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/melbourne-industrial-land-undersupply-warning-pca" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/melbourne-industrial-land-undersupply-warning-pca">zoned industrial land&nbsp;</a>in the state is in critical short supply.<div id="R9oSxbadxAmXmEnum8VNB"><div id="4HDY02Ek1teoVM7kJvKHcC"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4zkxkbqozxBV0oUAxifonn/eb30fccecaa7b884f38dc2250f619d60/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4zkxkbqozxBV0oUAxifonn/eb30fccecaa7b884f38dc2250f619d60/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The inland rail is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Australia’s recent history.&nbsp; </div></div></div>“Our preference is that the WIFT be built first—but ultimately, this report exposes the incompetence of the Morrison government yet again,” the spokesperson said.“We’re pleased to now have a partner in Canberra that we can work with to deliver critical projects in Victoria.”Australia’s freight and supply chain networks currently transport about four billion tonnes of goods across the country each year.That is expected to grow by 26 per cent by 2050, but freight along the eastern seaboard will grow by twice that. And nearly 75 per cent of inter-capital freight between Melbourne and Brisbane is currently carried by road.Typically, says the Australian government, an 1800-metre-long double-stacked inland rail train will have the capacity to carry the same volume of freight as 110 B-double trucks.Construction of the inland rail began in 2018 by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), a government-owned entity whose main business was to maintain freight railway lines.The current chair of Water NSW Peter Duncan and the inaugural Victorian chief engineer Collette Burke were appointed as the new chair and non-executive director of the ARTC in January this year. The federal government will also appoint a new chief executive for Inland Rail.<div id="1DTfbOmOOrKEpPNM4lq9Jx"><div id="2qpI1k4yjSAnJvh81zThyA"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5Z06UfJ5H9u01kJdvhTgt7/a9a06ab96e41aa15d0c63f07cb47142c/4.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5Z06UfJ5H9u01kJdvhTgt7/a9a06ab96e41aa15d0c63f07cb47142c/4.jpg"></picture><div>▲ An 1800-metre-long double-stacked inland rail train will have the capacity to carry the same volume of freight as 110 B-double trucks, the government says. </div></div></div>In brief comments after the release of Schott’s report, Duncan said the ARTC was committed to working closely with the Australian government to implement those recommendations.“We understand there is a high level of interest from staff, customers, contracting partners and community to understand the recommendations in more detail and we will work hard to provide more information in coming days,” he says.Economist and town planner Angus Witherby is an unashamed inland rail supporter.“I do think it’s got some issues, but I also think it’s a nation-building project.”Witherby lives in Moree, a town of about 7000 in the heart of New South Wales’ rich, black soil plains.&nbsp;&nbsp;The region boasts relatively high seasonal rainfall and some of the country’s highest soil fertility, which in turn makes for some of the highest diversity of crop production, including wheat, barley, sorghum and maize.Witherby spent seven years as director of planning at Moree Plains Shire Council, whose boundaries include three sections of the inland rail.“One of the things that is overlooked is that for most of us, we don't care about Melbourne to Brisbane…it's just not relevant to us,” says Witherby, now director of Wakefield Planning.<div id="1MZlFMDXxgA3EHgu4HsEcx"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4jKeiQ4UzPb0UZp0Lmw87u/e44c2c4e29a1820c632aa9d49c3d5da8/Inland_Rail_Lay_Mid.jpg" alt="For economist and town planner Angus Witherby, more sections of the inland rail project can't be laid soon enough (Image: Australian Rail Track Corporation)" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4jKeiQ4UzPb0UZp0Lmw87u/e44c2c4e29a1820c632aa9d49c3d5da8/Inland_Rail_Lay_Mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ For economist and town planner Angus Witherby, more sections of the inland rail project can't be laid soon enough (Image: Australian Rail Track Corporation)</div><div> </div></div>“What is relevant to us is getting our agricultural product to ports cheaply.“And in the case of Moree, one of the very first sections completed was the Narrabri to Moree line, and as a result we are now running 1400-m trains instead of 600-m trains.“That's immediately, radically improved cost efficiency of shipping grain by rail.”Joe Langley, a consultant with Harbinger Partners, said the intermodal facilities along the freight line’s length will be good for regional communities.“Any place that you've got an intermodal facility, you’re taking that agricultural land and converting that to a use that will justify infrastructure,” says Langley, who advises government on value capture funding.“You are going to have, if nothing else, stormwater drainage, roads, water and other types of utilities for the intermodal facility.“These value capture methods allow you to take some of that uplift.“It’s not going to pay for all of it, but it can be substantial to help fund the intermodal facility and that’s a great thing for those communities out there because they don't have the other resources through rates, unless they get government grants to build those facilities.”<div id="1DTfbOmOOrKEpPNM4lq9Jx"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/74RXg3eqG6zpjTCt3HfYEi/83f7ba494b01490adb6cbfee67419618/6.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/74RXg3eqG6zpjTCt3HfYEi/83f7ba494b01490adb6cbfee67419618/6.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Rushed decisions in the planning of the Inland Rail project are having far-reaching repercussions, say critics. </div></div>Nick Cleary is chairman of Consolidated Land and Rail Australia (CLARA), set up with other&nbsp;investors in 2011 to—among other things—<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/high-speed-rail-australia-east-coast" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/high-speed-rail-australia-east-coast">lobby for high-speed rail</a>.“We 100 per cent support the idea of inland rail because we think it takes the burden of freight off the existing routes which provides more opportunity to improve suburban rail, which is always a good thing for our communities,” Cleary said.“But before starting any rail project, you need to ensure that the corridor is secured and that any plan is well thought out and ironed out before you start taking on those challenges.”The news is not all bad. Work that has already begun north of Parkes in New South Wales’ Central West region, will continue while the federal government implements Schott’s recommendations.Parkes, about 355km west of Sydney, is a key point along the track. Earlier this year, one of Australia’s biggest freight operators, Pacific National, opened the $35-million first stage of its intermodal hub in the town.The facility sits on the junction of what will be the intersection of the east-west transcontinental rail corridor—which ends about 3000km away&nbsp; in Perth—with a section of the inland rail project, estimated for completion in 2027.There is more certainty with this part of the line than there is with the entire project, according to Dr Schott, who says current estimates put the latter's completion for 2030-31.For Witherby, fresh track can’t be laid fast enough.“The prediction is in about 20 to 30 years, the majority of our agricultural products will be boxed not bulk, so inland rail really begins to work for us then, particularly once the port of&nbsp;&nbsp;Newcastle gets its containers facility together.”Containerisation, he says, is the answer.“What we will see is the ability to provide products for an international market that are verified, and where the digital logistics chain matches the physical.“And you will be able to tell your pasta producer in Italy exactly which paddock the durum wheat came from, how it was treated along the way, and how we can guarantee that it's uncontaminated and of good quality,” he says.“That can only happen if we've got the infrastructure, physical infrastructure, to ship in a box.“And that means inland rail.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

A scathing review of the 1700-kilometre-long Inland Rail project has revealed massive cost blowouts, lengthy delays and a management team without the necessary skills for the job.

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Following a wave of construction business collapses across the country, national firm PBS Building is the latest to have stopped work onsite.In a shock move, PBS Building sites were closed over the weekend and did not reopen this morning.There are no current insolvency notices for PBS Building but it is understood that the builder had been struggling for some time.Keylin Developments confirmed that work being undertaken by PBS had ceased on its townhouse development, Serenity Reserve, on the Gold Coast at the weekend.&nbsp;“As yet, Keylin has not received any formal advice from PBS, however we are aware of media reports indicating that other sites have also ceased operations,” Keylin managing director Louis Cheung told The Urban Developer.“This is of course incredibly disappointing news.“PBS is an established and respected operator and it’s a tough day for our industry when a leading builder with such a long and celebrated history finds itself in this situation.”&nbsp;The 86 houses of Serenity Reserve are being delivered in partnership with Kinstone Group, with two stages already completed in late 2022.&nbsp;It is not the only development impacted by the sudden cessation of work by PBS. It is also supposed to be working on the 19-storey Shoreline development by Marquee Developments.But according to Keylin, PBS had been experiencing similar problems which have been faced by construction firms in recent months.These issues have led to a wave of administrations this year alone, including those of <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-builder-administration-defect-investigation-eq-construction" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-builder-administration-defect-investigation-eq-construction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sydney builder EQ Projects</a>, Queensland <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/luxury-housebuilder-ldc-queensland-liquidators-called-in" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/luxury-housebuilder-ldc-queensland-liquidators-called-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">housebuilder LDC</a>, and <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/delco-building-group-victoria-collapse" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/delco-building-group-victoria-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Delco Building Group</a> in Victoria, among others.“We became aware that PBS was experiencing challenges in January as a result of the sustained impact of cost, supply, and labour pressures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and extreme weather events,” Cheung said.“Since then, we’ve been working in close collaboration with their Gold Coast team to safeguard the project, including revised delivery strategies.“Our focus now is on our project and our purchasers.“We have sought legal advice and will assess all our options to navigate a way forward.”<div id="4X1onbRqs7lsHnglBRU70R"><div id="4X1onbRqs7lsHnglBRU70R"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7irqE211t81GuDBLkW66sn/6f066cf7388259f0095c0892470d780f/In-article__4_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7irqE211t81GuDBLkW66sn/6f066cf7388259f0095c0892470d780f/In-article__4_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Keylin’s Serenity Reserve is a sold-out development in Helensvale on the Gold Coast. </div></div> </div>National builder PBS was founded as Prestige Building Services in 1989 by brothers Peter and Ian Carter in Canberra.It went on to deliver a large section of the Sydney Olympic Village and open offices in Sydney and Brisbane.“Today, we are one of Australia’s most insightful, reputable and collaborative construction companies and our team culture and client loyalty are the greatest measures of our success,” it said on its now-defunct website.PBS has worked on projects as diverse as Latitude25 in Queensland, a retirement living building, St George Community Housing in Liverpool and the $115m Goodwin Farrer Aged Care facility, amongst many others.In addition to awards for Goodwin Village, last year it also won the 2022 Master Builders ACT and Asset Construction hire excellence awards.Calls to PBS Building’s offices went unanswered.Concerns about insolvencies in the construction sector, which are impacting developments and costing people their jobs, has led to <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/contractors-collapse-construction-australia-contracts-clough-group" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/contractors-collapse-construction-australia-contracts-clough-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calls for flexible rather than fixed-price contracts</a>.&nbsp;

National construction firm PBS Building is the latest to have stopped work on-site at its development projects after a wave of construction insolvencies hit the industry...

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Building activity ended 2022 as it had spent much of the year—down—falling by 1.6 per cent for&nbsp; the December 2022 quarter.The data from the ABS construction activity report for the quarter showed that national building activity declined during the quarter to $30,578.6 million compared to the September quarter. Engineering activity, which usually encompassed infrastructure activity, increased by 1 per cent to $24,693.5 million for the last quarter of 2022.Within the building activity segment, residential building activity increased by 0.9 per cent nationally during the quarter compared to the previous quarter while non-residential building activity decreased by 5.1 per cent.Detached house construction activity (which does not include the data for apartment construction) decline 1.4 per cent.BIS Oxford Economics global construction forecasting head Nicholas Fearnley said that decline was down to issues in the industry.“The 1.4 per cent fall in house construction activity shows that capacity constraints are hampering activity levels, and points to the elevated backlog of work that has developed over the past two years and that will continue to support construction activity for some time,” Fearnley said.Despite the fall in non-residential building activity, Feranley said he did not expect this decline to continue this year.“We expect activity to firm over 2023, supported by a sizeable pipeline of public projects including schools, train stations and hospitals,” he said.&nbsp;“Sectors hit hard by the border closure and movement restrictions are also expected to rebound while the tailwind behind asset classes that have benefited through the pandemic, including warehouses and data centres, is set to persist.”New South Wales and Western Australia recorded increases in building activity with 1.3 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.Victorian building activity declined by 2.5 per cent, Queensland was down 1 per cent, South Australian by 8.6 per cent, Tasmanian 3.5 per cent, Northern Territory 6.5 per cent and the Australian Capital Territory’s declined 7.9 per cent.However, comparison with the December 2021 quarter tells a different story.Building activity in NSW, WA and Victoria has increased compared to the last quarter of 2021, up in 2022 by 1.8 per cent, 6.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.&nbsp;On a year-on-year basis for the quarter, Queensland’s building activity dropped by 3 per cent, South Australia’s was down 5.5 per cent, Tasmania’s declined 2.3 per cent, the Northern Territory down 18.9 per cent and the Australian Capital Territory’s lost 12 per cent. Change in building activity<table border="0" style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; float: left; height: 584.5px;" class="mce-item-table" data-mce-style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; float: left; height: 584.5px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="height: 104.5px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 104.5px;">State or territory</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 104.5px;">Change in activity from September 2022 to December 2022 (%)</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 104.5px;">Change in activity from December 2021 to December 2022 (%)</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">New South Wales</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">1.3</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">1.8</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">Victoria</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">-2.5</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">3.8</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">Queensland</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">-1.0</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">-3</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">South Australia</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">-8.6</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">-5.5</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">Western Australia</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">5.0</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">6.8</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">Tasmania</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">-3.5</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">-2.3</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 57px;">Northern Territory</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 57px;">-6.5</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 57px;">-18.9</td></tr><tr style="height: 81px;" data-mce-style="height: 81px;"><td style="width: 33.1614%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1614%; height: 81px;">Australian Capital Territory</td><td style="width: 33.6715%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6715%; height: 81px;">-7.9</td><td style="width: 33.1672%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1672%; height: 81px;">-12.0</td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Construction Work Done, Preliminary Report, February 2023, Australian Bureau of Statistics&nbsp;&nbsp; Fearnley said it was not expect the changes in demand for housing would show in the data for another few years.“Demand for new homes, however, has fallen significantly in response to building costs, delays and credit availability,” he said.“This isn’t expected to materially affect the work done numbers until the back end of 2024 and 2025.”Engineering activity increased by 1 per cent in the December 2022 quarter driven by increased government investment in infrastructure projects.“Activity is forecast to grow over the coming years, supported by a large pipeline of publicly funded transportation projects,” Fearnley said.He said pricing would also gradually improve as the market reacted to inflation and other factors.“Ultimately, higher prices encourage a supply response, as higher wages attract more workers to the construction sector and stronger material prices encourage suppliers to bring more capacity online,” Fearnley said.“The strong demand for construction activity, both domestically and globally, over the coming years ensures that the supply side response to high prices is unlikely to create a ‘whipsaw’ effect, whereby we see a sharp fall in construction costs.”Data in the report is collected directly from a survey of organisations and entities within the construction industry, with an average response rate of 85 per cent.&nbsp;Recent reports have seen a response rate of 70 per cent according to the ABS, signalling that further corrections to estimates and figures may need to be made.

Infrastructure projects seemingly took over in the fourth quarter of 2022, as the latest ABS data shows a drop in national building activity...


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Canberra developer Doma Group has lodged plans for the final stage of its 600-apartment masterplan in Canberra’s southwest.The application forms part of the developer’s four stage The Melrose development, planned for a 1.1ha island site at the western edge of the Woden Town Centre in Philip—a once thriving hub of public service and retail activity.Doma Group purchased the site in mid-2020 for $12.5 million from the ACT government. The site was previously a car park but was decommissioned after the multi-storey Skypark Carpark was built adjacent to the site.&nbsp;The site was targeted due to its location near to Parliamentary Triangle and Canberra’s largest hospital as well as the city’s most exclusive southside suburbs and one of its major shopping centres.&nbsp;The masterplanned apartment and commercial precinct, which features four ranging in size from 12 to 20 storeys, will hold frontages to Melrose Drive, Furzer Street, Corinna Street and Garth Close.It is opposite Doma Group’s previous project A&amp;A—a redevelopment that transformed two dilapidated, mid-1960s, former government buildings into 200 apartments.<div id="3nBHL18IqeguuhUxJ7GJUm"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1LI9DGuQznjSBQkXpp5rpU/a223940e7d24fbd9717aa2afd833fd81/The_site_where_The_Melrose_will_be_located_in_yellow_vtneda.jpeg" alt="A new gym, pub, small offices, restaurants, childcare centre and personal services businesses have recently been opened in Woden which has traditionally only been an office and employment core.

" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1LI9DGuQznjSBQkXpp5rpU/a223940e7d24fbd9717aa2afd833fd81/The_site_where_The_Melrose_will_be_located_in_yellow_vtneda.jpeg"></picture><div>▲ A new gym, pub, small offices, restaurants, childcare centre and personal services businesses have recently been opened in Woden which has traditionally only been an office and employment core. </div></div>As part of the masterplan, the developer is already pressing ahead with its 20-storey project comprising 183 one, two and three-bedroom apartments as well as outdoor communal amenities, including a ground-floor outdoor heated pool, podium leisure terrace and an exclusive rooftop eatery area.Earlier this year lodged plans for a further 207 apartments above two ground-floor commercial tenancies and podium and basement parking for 282 vehicles.The final stage, designed by Stewart Architecture, will add two buildings of 16 and 18 storeys on the corner of Garth Close and Furzer Street.&nbsp;The buildings, which will be split by a shared concourse, will comprise 200 apartments above basement and podium level car parking as well as new communal areas and a pool.Doma Group managing director Jure Domazet said the $50-million development would continue its approach to creating the best amenity in Woden—an area that had traditionally only been a strong office and employment core.<div id="hmCc95TobKL2iyblmgkaU"><div id="hmCc95TobKL2iyblmgkaU"></div><picture>“We have a strong connection with Woden Town Centre having developed a significant amount of office at Aviation House, the Department of Health Building and A&amp;A, along with apartments and retail,” Domazet said.</picture>“Greater residential development in this area adds people and activity, enlivening the area seven days a week and consolidating Woden as a must-visit destination.”<div><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2WULJMW0MiqyHcBzwexxWK/e0a51f3fdd951931bbaf792b1c3e073b/Screen_Shot_2022-11-21_at_2.16.20_pm.png" alt="Doma Group said its masterplan enabled a central open space as well as generous and considered separation of buildings providing all apartments with light, outlook and privacy. Image: Stewart Architecture " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2WULJMW0MiqyHcBzwexxWK/e0a51f3fdd951931bbaf792b1c3e073b/Screen_Shot_2022-11-21_at_2.16.20_pm.png"></picture><div>▲ Many new large apartment buildings are planned for the town centre to accommodate thousands of new residents. Image: Stewart Architecture </div></div></div>The population of Phillip—in which the town centre lies—almost doubled from 2016 to 2021, with most of the extra residents living in newly built apartment blocks. The main catalyst for development in the area has been the light rail stage 2B.One of the biggest and most public-facing changes to Woden Town Centre is the new 12-storey, 150-guest room Hellenic Club.Construction giant Geocon is also building its four-tower, 20-plus-storey Wova development, which will include hundreds of apartments on the old Woden Tradies club site.The state government also plans to continue to release more sites for development in the area, including a prime 1.4ha block in the next 12 months.For Canberra-based Doma Group, which is behind developments including The Parks in Red Hill and Hotel Realm, The Melrose is just one of a slew of large-scale mixed-use developments it is currently overseeing.The developer also has big plans in NSW after being greenlit to build <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/doma-s-dual-tower-newcastle-project-gets-nod" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/doma-s-dual-tower-newcastle-project-gets-nod" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newcastle’s tallest building</a>.The Store Residences will be the final stage in a $350-million transformation of the 8700sq m site at 854 Hunter Street. The former Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society Limited site was purchased by the NSW government in 2015.&nbsp;It was taken to the market two years later with a vision to deliver “true multi-modal transport infrastructure … while also realising the true opportunity of the site, including its significant building heights”. Doma was awarded the tender for its proposal following a competitive process.

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Capital Estate Developments, the real estate arm of Canberra Airport, has filed plans for the first stage of its build-to-rent project in Denman Prospect.The project, The Borough, on Holborow Avenue is expected to comprise around 700 apartments.&nbsp;A mix of residential and mixed-use buildings to provide amenity for future residents would make up the precinct.Capital Estate Developments will partner with local builder Jega to deliver the project.Plans filed for the first stage acomprise two six-storey towers with 162 residential apartments to be builts on a 10,531sq m section of the site.There will be carparking spaces on the lower ground floor and the ground floor.The plans show that one of the towers has six units on the lower ground floor, 15 units on the ground floor, 16 on each of the first, second and third floors, 13 on the fourth floor and seven on the fifth floor; while the second tower has seven units on the lower ground floor, 13 on the ground floor, 14 on each of the first and second floors, 12 on the third floor, eight on the fourth floor and five on the fifth floor.<div id="uge4KCBpRAAdXFLJhskAB"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6uqRe055wNORW2qdJvpkho/fbdbc3f5a99111ceaccb1f5fa5d32b2e/canberra_DA_btr_mid.jpg" alt="Building D, part of the first stage of The Borough, a build-to-rent project in Canberra's Denman Prospect by Canberra Airport's property arm, Capital Estate Developments." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6uqRe055wNORW2qdJvpkho/fbdbc3f5a99111ceaccb1f5fa5d32b2e/canberra_DA_btr_mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Building D, one of the two tower proposed for the first stage of The Borough. </div></div>The Borough project will have solar panels, electric vehicle charging points, drone delivery zones, community gardens, workspaces, quiet rooms, pop up shops, cafes, gyms and resident-only communal rooftop spaces.While four architect firms will be used throughout the project, DKO Architects has designed the plans for the first stage. The other architects are DNA, AMC and Oztal.&nbsp;Planning records show a total development cost for the stage of $45.4 million.There will be 17 accessible units with 17 DDA carparking spaces.&nbsp;Stage 2 of the project is expected to have 208 units across three further towers.Elevated Living and Capital Estate Developments have also lodged separate plans for a $3.3-million project on the same street.The plans by Mather Architecture showeight two-storey townhouses on a 1784sq m site.

Capital Estate Developments, the real estate arm of Canberra Airport, has filed plans for the first stage of its build-to-rent project in Denman Prospect.
The project is titled ‘The Borough’ and is on Holborow Avenue and is expected to have around 700 units in total when completed. 


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The Federal Labor government has announced a $9.6-billion infrastructure spend across Australia as part of its first Budget.The record funding encompasses rail and road projects and makes good on promise by now-Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the run-up to the May election.Albanese said that “sound and planned infrastructure investment in Australia creates jobs, builds opportunity and unlocks economic growth and productivity for our cities and our regions”.“It’s about making journeys quicker, but also making sure people can get home to their families safely,” he said during the announcement on Sunday.“Through our first Budget, my team is getting on with the job of delivering projects in consultation with Infrastructure Australia and all levels of government to make a real difference to the lives of Australians.”Topping the spend for Victoria, the $3.6-billion Melbourne Intermodal Terminal Package will receive $3.1 billion in new commitments in the Budget.Also in that state, $2.2 billion has been allocated to the Suburban Railway Loop, a 90km rail line that will link every major rail line from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/melbourne-airport-rail-link-revealed" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/melbourne-airport-rail-link-revealed">via Melbourne Airport</a>.It has been criticised by the state auditor-general, who said a full business case for the project had not been provided and that the government had not “demonstrated the economic rationale for the entire project”.In Queensland, two sections of east coast rail links have been funded with $1.6 billion for the Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast (Beerwah—Maroochydore) rail extension, and $1.1 billion for the Brisbane to the Gold Coast (Kuraby—Beenleigh) faster rail upgrade.Similarly, in NSW, $1 billion has been put up for the Sydney to Newcastle (Tuggerah—Wyong) faster rail upgrade.<div id="36Gh18fNuRWn3pWMc4NtYP"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1c90sIgmguitB095RM2BNO/ba85e255d2fa8a2ba7c962a135e7a4e7/Mid_article_resizes__1_.jpg" alt="A render of the Monash station, part of the Melbourne Rail Loop project." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1c90sIgmguitB095RM2BNO/ba85e255d2fa8a2ba7c962a135e7a4e7/Mid_article_resizes__1_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the Monash station, part of the Melbourne Rail Loop project. </div></div>Also in NSW, $77.5 million has been put forward for the development of a Final Business Case and early property acquisitions for an extension of the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line from Bradfield to Glenfield via Leppington.In the Queensland capital, $150 million has been allocated to help deliver a new metro station at Woolloongabba, home to the main stadium for the city’s Olympic Games.Across WA, the NT and Queensland, $678 million will be spent on the Outback Way road link.In Tasmania, $336 million has been allocated to the Tasmanian Roads Package—Northern Roads Package Stage 2, and in SA $200 million for the Marion Road—Anzac Highway to Cross Road.The announcement also includes a $145 million spend for the Thomas Road—Dual Carriageway—South Western Highway to Tonkin Highway and interchange at Tonkin Highway in WA, $132 million for Central Australian Tourism Roads in the NT, and $46.7 million towards the Athllon Drive Duplication in the ACT.The announcement has been met with criticism that Coalition government states, including NSW, have been “dudded’ by the announcements with that state’s infrastructure minister, Rob Stokes, and transport minister, David Elliott, saying the federal government had “short-changed” their state.Stokes said the budget announcements included twice as much funding to Victoria and the NT as NSW, while WA Liberal senator Michaelia Cash pointed out her state was receiving less than Tasmania.

Infrastructure projects across Australia will received a $9.6-billion investment under the Federal government’s first Budget…

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Charter Hall has snapped up Canberra’s Geoscience Australia Headquarters for $363.5 million, a record commercial property sale for the ACT.Investment managers Real IS listed the facility through an international expressions of interest campaign managed by Colliers and JLL this year with an expected price tag of more than $360 million. The sale reflected a 7.4 per cent initial yield.Charter Hall bought units in the property’s trust via its managed funds: he Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT bought a 25 per cent share for $90.9 million with its share funded by its existing debt capacity, and the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT bought another 25 per cent share also for $90.9 million.&nbsp;It funded its share by selling off industrial facilities at 364-426 Old Geelong Road at Hoppers Crossing, Victoria for $74 million in June this year.Settlement of the Old Geelong Road sale is expected in December and the property has a 3.5 year WALE and 4.5 per cent cap rate.The other 50 per cent was purchased by Charter Hall itself for $181.75 million.&nbsp;<div id="2Xjc0INe6nUInDtFBUAHMA"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5KDHzdQcNWPHWPZnOe66Kh/9c43612cf508df4e03d469da7505c707/Geoscience-Australia-Main-Building-Refurbishment01.jpg" alt="An image of the interior of the Geoscience Australia building recently refurbished by Iqon." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5KDHzdQcNWPHWPZnOe66Kh/9c43612cf508df4e03d469da7505c707/Geoscience-Australia-Main-Building-Refurbishment01.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The labs and interior of the Geoscience Australia building were recently refurbished by Iqon. </div></div>The facility was purpose built by the federal government in 1997 on a 160,378sq m site at 101 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Symonston, less than 10km from the Canberra CBD.&nbsp;It was designed by Eggleston MacDonald (now DesignInc) and the federal government moved into the facility upon completiion in 1998.When built, 17,000 cubic m of concrete and 1200 tonnes of structural steel were used to construct the main building and the adjoining support building.&nbsp;Geoscience Australia is the sole tenant for the facility, which has a net lettable area of 32,659sq m, a 7.4 per cent initial yield and a 9.6 year WALE.It has geochemistry, geochronology and mineral separation labs along with a mass spectrometer and national earthquake alert seismic centre.There are 652 parking spaces, a childcare centre, end-of-trip facilities, a public gallery, a research library, cafe and a gym on the site.&nbsp;The building has a geothermal heat pump system of 350 pipes to use the earth as a heat sink or source in different seasons as part of its air-conditioning system. It also has other energy efficient systems, including a passive sun-control system, double glazing and thermal insulation.

Charter Hall has bought the Geoscience Australia Headquarters from investment managers Real I.S. for $363.5 million.
Real I.S. listed the facility for sale through an international expressions of interest campaign managed by Colliers and JLL earlier this year with an expected price tag of more than $360 million.


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Developer JWLand has planned the final hotel stage of the Northbourne Village project in Canberra’s inner-north.The site on Northbourne Avenue is between Embark, the first stage of the Northbourne Village project and the third stage of the project, which is now awaiting approval in the planning process.It is also bordered by Owen Crescent and is a short distance from Sullivans Creek.The 156-room hotel and serviced-apartments project will have nine storeys and JWLand hopes, approval pending, to complete it in 2025.&nbsp;The site is close to the heritage-listed Owen Flats and other heritage buildings, all of which will be retained along with several protected trees.&nbsp;Given the narrow width of the site and the protected trees, there will be no basement parking under the building for Stage 4.Instead, the parking for Stage 4 will be included in the basement parking levels under the buildings in Stage 3 of the Northbourne Village project.<div id="1tkjkXgfVu4lctz0MZHGAd"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6ao3rBRblsttcg1vAkzOYJ/36b97771315852542b54a5ab7ddac0bb/JWLand_Northbourne_Village_Stage_4_story_mid.jpg" alt="The final hotel stage also backs onto Owen Crescent and is near Sullivans Creek." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6ao3rBRblsttcg1vAkzOYJ/36b97771315852542b54a5ab7ddac0bb/JWLand_Northbourne_Village_Stage_4_story_mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The final hotel stage also backs onto Owen Crescent and is near Sullivans Creek. </div></div>Stage 1, Embark, is already completed and Stage 2 is under construction.&nbsp;Stage 1 is a nine-storey 172-unit project with four commercial tenancies with an end value of $80 million.&nbsp;Stage 2 has 44 units in one multi-level five and six-storey building, and another 124 units in another nine-storey building.&nbsp;It has an end value of $95 million.&nbsp;It will also have 261 carparking spaces across three basement levels.Stage 3 will also have multi-level buildings, with the first one having 230 units across a multi-level six, eight and nine-storey building, and another 121 units in a second multi-level six and eight-storey building.Stage 3 has an end value of $200 million.The entire Northbourne project has a estimated end value of $300 million.Northbourne Avenue has seen a lot of development projects recently as the ACT government constructs the Northbourne Avenue light rail line.&nbsp;The ACT government has been releasing land in large tracts along the line as it is constructed, on occasion demolishing low-quality low-density social housing projects and relocating residents to make room for larger high-density developments.&nbsp;JWLand ACT development head Michael Prendergast said it meant that developers often followed where the government chose to release land.“At the scales of development that we do, which is precinct scales, the majority of the land that is released and is available for sale is sold by the ACT government,” Prendergast said.“So it’s either residual land being earmarked for future development or they were community or social housing at very low density so they demolish the housing, relocate the residents and they sell off these large parcels of land in auctions or expressions of interest processes.”<div id="2Yvf2ij2uLdchijd3hYmaE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3P11VtrQMJ0c4Z3c8pmCif/3276da585e376fa0029fa9facc728eec/Braddon_Place_mid_.jpg" alt="One of the hotels planned for JWLand's Braddon Place project along Canberra's Northbourne Avenue which will have 600 apartments and 239 hotel rooms. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3P11VtrQMJ0c4Z3c8pmCif/3276da585e376fa0029fa9facc728eec/Braddon_Place_mid_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ One of the hotels planned for JWLand's Braddon Place project along Canberra’s Northbourne Avenue, which will have 600 apartments and 239 hotel rooms. </div></div>In addition to the Northbourne Village, <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/jwland-500m-residential-hotel-braddon-northbourne-canberra" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/jwland-500m-residential-hotel-braddon-northbourne-canberra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JWLand has spent $28 million on another site along Northbourne Avenue</a> with plans awaiting approval for a residential precinct with an estimated end value of $500 million.Braddon Place will have 600 apartments, 239 hotel rooms and 908 carparking spaces across six buildings.<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/canberra-build-to-rent-evri-group" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/canberra-build-to-rent-evri-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evri Group has filed plans for another residential precinct</a>, tipped to have an estimated end value of $150 million with 447 units nearby.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/art-group-files-plans-for-aud200m-canberra-precinct" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/art-group-files-plans-for-aud200m-canberra-precinct" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Roso’s Art Group has also filed plans for a residential precinct</a> with 424 units and an end value of more than $200 million at the corner of Macarthur Avenue and Northbourne Avenue.

Developer JWLand has planned the final hotel stage of the Northbourne Village project in Canberra’s inner-north. 
The site on Northbourne Avenue is between Embark, the first stage of the Northbourne Village project and the third stage of the project which is currently awaiting approval in the planning process.


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Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Suites hotel brand has filed amendments to the plans for its Canberra CBD hotel.&nbsp;The 1734sq m site at 40 Allara Street in Canberra’s civic precinct was sold to Triguboff in July 2019.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/triguboff-secures-maiden-canberra-location" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/triguboff-secures-maiden-canberra-location">Triguboff bought the site on the corner of Allara and Nangari streets</a> for $23 million from the Australian Unity Property Income Fund.The off-market sale was handled through Andrew Stewart and Nick Purdue of Savills.&nbsp;The site was previously tenanted by the Australian government with a six-storey office building on the property.&nbsp;At the time, it marked the first time the Meriton Suites brand had entered the Canberra market but Triguboff felt it was a good investment.&nbsp;“Canberra has long been on our radar because it’s drawing nearly three million visitors a year,” Triguboff told The Urban Developer in 2019.&nbsp;“Many people going there are on business, often politics related, and visit for multiple nights.”Fender Katsaldis Architects designed the plans for the Meriton Suites hotel with approval granted for the project in mid 2021.&nbsp;The original plans included 16 storeys over two basement car parking levels with commercial tenancies and serviced apartments and a pool and gym on levels 14 and 15. There are 207 suites ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments.&nbsp;The one-bedroom suites will make up about 70 per cent of the rooms and one- and two-bedroom suites will be on the first 11 levels.The three retail tenancies were on the ground floor of the 50 metre-tall-building, with two luxury penthouse suites on the top floor.&nbsp;There will be a total of 65 car parking spaces across the two basement levels.<div id="1FCzqsBInPMjxSfSWFY0Wg"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5tBj1e7X1rx91hw3LQCbFp/ba011aaed816b651d69806afc02b9220/triguboff_merton_suites_mid.jpg" alt="Canberra's first Meriton Suites hotel is set to open in April 2023." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5tBj1e7X1rx91hw3LQCbFp/ba011aaed816b651d69806afc02b9220/triguboff_merton_suites_mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Canberra's first Meriton Suites hotel is set to open in April 2023. </div></div>The new changes include the reconfiguration of the ground floor layout, a setback from Allara Street, certain bedroom and kitchen modifications, changes to the pool and spa areas and a redesign of the three-bedroom penthouse.&nbsp;The facade will also change slightly with the removal of frosted glazing and a colour change for some elements including the ground floor columns.&nbsp;The company is expecting to open the hotel in April 2023.&nbsp;Triguboff launched the Meriton Suites hotel brand in 2003 and started his career in construction 60 years ago building high-rise towers for affordable apartments.&nbsp;Earlier this year, the 18-storey Park Avenue apartment residents neighbouring the site said that they had not been adequately consulted prior to the planning approval being granted as their building had not been completed yet and they had not moved in.

Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Suites hotel brand has filed amendments to the plans for its Canberra CBD hotel. 
The 1734sq m site at 40 Allara Street in Canberra’s civic precinct was sold to Triguboff in July 2019. 


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Developer JWLand has filed plans for its next project, a $500-million residential precinct on Northbourne Avenue at Braddon in Canberra.&nbsp;The 15,607sq m site sits between the Rex Hotel and Haig Park on Northbourne Avenue.&nbsp;JWLand bought the site from the ACT’s Suburban Land Agency in 2020 for $28 million. Construction cost for the project has been estimated at $158.2 million with an estimated end value of $500 million.&nbsp;The COX Architect-designed plans include six buildings, three with frontages on to Northbourne Avenue and three with frontages to Henty Street.Buildings 1, 3 and 5 on Northbourne Avenue will each have nine storeys while buildings 3 and 5 will also have a hotel or serviced apartments component.Buildings 2, 4, and 6 will face Henty Street and will each have six storeys.&nbsp;There will be 600 one, two and three-bedroom apartments across all the buildings with 239 hotel rooms across the corner sections of buildings 3 and 5. Both hotels will also have space for for a restaurant.&nbsp;There will be 908 carparking spaces within the project across two basement levels.<div id="2Yvf2ij2uLdchijd3hYmaE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3P11VtrQMJ0c4Z3c8pmCif/3276da585e376fa0029fa9facc728eec/Braddon_Place_mid_.jpg" alt="One of the hotels planned for JWLand's Braddon Place project along Canberra's Northbourne Avenue which will have 600 apartments and 239 hotel rooms. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3P11VtrQMJ0c4Z3c8pmCif/3276da585e376fa0029fa9facc728eec/Braddon_Place_mid_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the hotels planned for JWLand’s Braddon Place project on Canberra's Northbourne Avenue. </div></div><a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/property-prices-power-canberra-developments" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/property-prices-power-canberra-developments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JWLand has other projects along Northbourne Avenue</a> with the plans for stage 3 of the Northbourne Village awaiting approval and Stage 4 plans due to be lodged soon.&nbsp;JWLand ACT development head Michael Prendergast said that the size of projects that the developer undertook meant they often followed where the government released land.“At the scales of development that we do, which is precinct scales, the majority of the land that is released and is available for sale is sold by the ACT government,” Prendergast said.“So it’s either residual land being earmarked for future development or they were community or social housing at very low density so they demolish the housing, relocate the residents and they sell off these large parcels of land in auctions or expressions of interest processes.“The ACT government has focused on releasing land along Northbourne Avenue over the last few years due to the introduction of the light rail line that they have put down the avenue running to the city.”When the block including the Braddon Place site was divided up and sold, the ACT government relocated residents from 1288 units in low-density social housing projects.&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/jwland-enters-victorian-market" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/jwland-enters-victorian-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The developer is also scheduled to complete The Grounds project in Ivanhoe East in Victoria,</a> a high-end residential project with 100 units and 10 townhouses, by the end of the year.&nbsp;JWLand has singalled it will lodge plans for a project at Belconnen in Canberra next to a major bus interchange on a former carpark with 168 spaces.&nbsp;The project will be a mix of 550 build-to-sell and 350 build-to-rent apartments.&nbsp;

Developer JWLand has filed plans for its next project, a $500-million residential precinct on Northbourne Avenue at Braddon in Canberra. 

The 15,607sq m site sits between the Rex Hotel and Haig Park along Northbourne Avenue. 

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A family-owned Canberra developer is hoping record low vacancy levels as well as the government’s plans for new housing will bolster its first foray into the national capital’s fledgling build-to-rent market.Evri Group has filed plans for 447 build-to-rent&nbsp;apartments across three buildings up to 13-storeys high in central Canberra.The $150-million project is planned for a 10,663sq-m site bounded by Northbourne and Wakefield avenues at Braddon, 2km north of Civic Square.The Sarris family-owned developer paid about $5.5 million for the site more than 20 years ago.“We had done a couple of residential built-to-sell projects on the Northbourne Avenue corridor,” Evri Group development manager Rob Speight said.“We’ve owned this site for many years, and we felt it was time to repurpose that project, those buildings.”The developer plans to demolish vacant buildings on the site and build three, mixed-use towers in their place.The main building will rise 13 storeys, with another four storeys of basement parking, and include a mix of commercial tenancies, residential units, and co-working office space. A second building of 10 storeys will house just apartments—a variety of one, two and three bedroom.A third building of six storeys will include offices and shops.<div id="IxuAwGivQhV9Fe0HqSbkf"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/72Aehusj042BsFa7TKVAmo/8343b9e3b55c6b06b8a0bf616af59ff6/Braddon_BTR_1_Mid.jpg" alt="The building application comes as the ACT government says it needs an additional 30,000 homes in the next five years." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/72Aehusj042BsFa7TKVAmo/8343b9e3b55c6b06b8a0bf616af59ff6/Braddon_BTR_1_Mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The building application comes as the ACT government says it needs an additional 30,000 homes in the next five years.</div><div> </div></div>The development application says the proposed residential component is one of Canberra’s “first true build-to-rent (BtR) proposals”, allowing for arrangements for short and long-term tenancies.That’s in keeping with the ACT government, which has said it needs an extra 30,000 homes over the next five years to meet population growth.ACT chief minister Andrew Barr last month said Canberra would increase its total housing supply from about 180,000 dwellings to about 210,000 over that five years.“We have experienced nation-leading population growth over the past decade and this has placed pressure on our local housing market,” Barr said.<div id="48uQ24ieFWGpNTsAcrbNGV"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/x4ryYXbaJvCm8H5HKC7i0/61d0cb19cde25bdf4137bfc06c20fdc0/Braddon_BTR_2_Mid.jpg" alt="The main building will rise 13 storeys, with another four storeys of basement parking, and include a mix of commercial tenancies, residential units, and co-working office space. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/x4ryYXbaJvCm8H5HKC7i0/61d0cb19cde25bdf4137bfc06c20fdc0/Braddon_BTR_2_Mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The main building will rise 13 storeys, with another four storeys of basement parking, and include a mix of commercial tenancies, residential units, and co-working office space.</div><div> </div></div>The government’s announcement coincided with the release of a build-to-rent investment prospectus, in which Canberra outlined plans to encourage more build-to-rent developments in the ACT, as well as financial support for affordability components of development proposals.“We want to see more built-to-rent projects in the ACT, and the government will be pursing private investment into these projects over the coming years,” Barr said last month.Speight said he was not expecting government-proposed tax offsets to influence institutional-style build-to-rent products.“The ACT government is conflating BtR with affordable housing but when you have supply uplift it just lends to the whole conversation around affordability and while that's not a primary driver for us, it is another offset asset class,” he said.“And once we dug below the surface a little, you find less risk on a rental basis and less long-term vacancy.“There are lower yields than on commercial office but because of the lower risk on vacancy it became appealing.”&nbsp;According to SQM Research, the rental vacancy rate in Canberra in July was just below 1 per cent.Speight said Evri wanted to manage the finished built-to-rent operation themselves.“We're under no illusions that there are people out there treading this space who are interested in setting up management companies to sit alongside property companies, and we're open to that as a prospect,” he said.“However, we also think they're a little bit untested, like other things in the BtR space. And we'd prefer to set it up ourselves, keep hold and control of the energy around the project.”Evri Group has engaged Fender Katsalidis Architects, Oculus Landscape Architects and Purdon Planning as part of the consultant team to redevelop the site.Purdon Planning said additional amenities will include communal rooftop gardens, a swimming pool, games and function rooms, and ground-level commercial tenancies—probably a mix of retail, restaurant and cafe, as well as a commercial gym.Industry leaders say markets such as <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/build-to-rent-luxury-alt-living-rental-crisis" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/build-to-rent-luxury-alt-living-rental-crisis">Canberra, Perth and Adelaide are creating more opportunities&nbsp;</a>for build-to-rent investors.

A family-owned Canberra developer is hoping record low vacancy levels as well as the government’s plans for new housing will bolster its first foray into the national capital’s fledgling build-to-rent market.