The ACT government has sold a key Northbourne Avenue site in Lyneham for $19 million, which could potentially be home to one of the tallest buildings on Canberra's gateway.
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The former site of Macarthur House has sold to prominent Northbourne Avenue developer Art Group. The developer will be able to build up to 424 apartments on the 13,663-square-metre site.
The Suburban Land Agency put the site up for tender in May but the tender process failed to secure a buyer and the block was subsequently sold "over the counter".
An agency spokeswoman said the block was bought with contractual terms similar to the tender process.
When the block was put up for sale in May, a Suburban Land Agency spokesman said applicants to the tender would have to fulfil a range of design and quality requirements.
"The initial process in 2020 closed with no tenders received," the spokeswoman said.
"Whilst this previous process did not result in a sale, there was still significant interest.
"The site was placed for sale over the counter based on the same sales terms and the same disclosed tender price."
Art Group has not provided any plans for the site to the Suburban Land Agency but the agency spokeswoman said it was flagged to become an "urban village" that was aimed at bringing "density and life to the area".
"The development of Macarthur on Northbourne site as a mixed-use precinct with the requirement for commercial, community and residential uses will mark the start of the creation of a new precinct on Northbourne Avenue," she said.
Fifty dwellings in the completed building would be required to be sold as an ACT government affordable housing block.
Macarthur House was previously used as ACT government offices and was demolished in 2018.
Art Group has previously bought former public housing flats in Dickson. A mixed-use development, which is proposed to have 900 apartments and offices, is currently being built on the site.
As well, the developer has built the "On Forbes" apartments in Turner on Northbourne Avenue.
IN OTHER PROPERTY NEWS:
The Macarthur House site has been one of the contentious on Northbourne Avenue. In 2017, the government was forced to hose down reports that building heights on the intersection of Macarthur and Wakefield avenues could be increased to 50 metres.
But the government has proposed to allow higher "marker" buildings at the intersection. In a proposed draft variation to the territory plan, the government said it considered the intersection as "an important point in the Griffin plan".
A defined height limit is not given to the site but a developer is bound by planning controls in the National Capital Plan.
ABC Canberra's studio is also on the intersection of Macarthur and Wakefield avenues but the public broadcaster has previously said it had no plans to sell or redevelop the site.
The variation is part of the ACT government's City and Gateway framework, which could pave the way for up to 37,000 dwellings on Northbourne Avenue.
The sale of the Macarthur Avenue site was postponed while the government sought to finalise new planning frameworks for the site.
Art Group has been contacted by The Canberra Times for comment on the purchase of Macarthur House.
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Lucy Bladen
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
