Developers Doma and Englobo have announced the supermarket giant will open a Woolworths Metro store in the $160 million second stage of their project, which has commenced construction.

Woolworths Metro is smaller than the chain's typical supermarket. The Dickson store will be the second Woolworths Metro in Canberra, after a store opened in Geocon's Republic development earlier this year.

Many people in Dickson have long-called for a second supermarket in the suburb.

Coles has long-planned to build a store and apartments in the suburb but its development was held up earlier this year, a spokesman blamed the delay on the coronavirus pandemic.

"I'm incredibly pleased to confirm that Woolworths have confirmed their intention to open a Woolworths Metro store and this adds to a very strong line-up of hospitality and service-based businesses who will call DKSN home," Englobo group director John Susa said.

DKSN is on the former site of the Dickson Motor Registry. The first stage of the redevelopment, which has been completed, includes 102 apartments, commercial tenancies and a 13,200-square-metre ACT government office.

READ MORE:

Altogether there will be 300 apartments in the development and Doma Group general manager Gavin Edgar said these were boosted by the federal government's Homebuilder grant program.

He said about 50 per cent of buyers had used the program in the second stage of DKSN.

"I think it's fair to say that in this case a strong product and this additional support from government has combined to deliver a very strong outcome which has seen us move to the construction phase sooner than what may have otherwise been possible," he said.