From 27 townhouses to 150 apartments: the radical about-face proposed for this site

The developer of a greenfield site in Denman Prospect has scrapped its already approved townhouse plans, instead proposing to build more than 150 apartments next to Coree Park.

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Rising construction costs and interest rates, along with the falling property market forced the change to a three-building apartment complex, according to Core Developments' application to the planning authority.

Its previous development application, which had proposed 27 two- and three-storey townhouses on the site, had been approved in March 2024.

An artists impression of the apartment complex from Manoa Street. Picture supplied

"Changing market conditions and project viability considerations have significantly impacted the feasibility of the approved development outcome," the application said.

"In particular, escalating construction costs, elevated interest rates and softer market demand for a higher-priced townhouse product have resulted in insufficient pre-sales being achieved to support project delivery."

Three-bedroom apartments rejected

Core Developments, which has already completed four projects in Denman Prospect, has also proposed to not build any three- or four-bedroom units in the development.

Instead, 25 per cent of the apartments would have one bedroom, with an additional 7 per cent having one bedroom and a study. The remaining 67 per cent of apartments would have two bedrooms.

That would be contrary to the ACT's development guidelines, which recommend including "some compact 3-4-bedroom family-appropriate dwellings to improve affordability for families or larger households" as part of the government's push for housing diversity.

An artist's impression of the proposed apartment complex from Coree Park. Picture supplied

About 60 per cent of the three-bedroom apartments in Boulevard have not sold, according to the application, and none have sold in the past two and a half years. All the smaller apartments have sold.

"Market feedback indicates purchasers seeking three or more bedrooms in Denman Prospect generally prefer a detached house, which provides land at a comparable price point," the application said.

"While larger apartments may have stronger demand in more central locations, the evidence from the local market indicates that three- and four-bedroom apartments would have limited demand in this location."

Instead, the developer has suggested "dual-key" apartment layouts, which would have two self-contained apartments behind a single front door.

The layout would allow for intergenerational families to "live together white maintaining privacy" or give first home buyers the option of leasing out part of the property to earn back some money, according to the application.

Partial overshadowing of Coree Park

The development is planned for a greenfield site on Manoa Street, about one kilometre from Boulevard.

The complex would include three buildings, each between five and six storeys tall, above a shared basement car park.

The complex would sit on the boundary of Coree Park, with west-facing apartments looking over the public space. Other aspects would include the Molonglo River, Parliament House and the arboretum.

The tallest building would be 20.5 metres tall, 50 centimetres under the maximum height allowed on the site.

It would overshadow Coree Park for about two hours at 9am on the winter solstice. However it would only affect a "transient space" in the park, with no seating areas affected, the development application said.

Public consultation on the changes is open until Monday, November 2.

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