The former Australian Forestry School site may become home to apartments, a hotel and an aged care facility, if an application to amend Commonwealth planning rules is successful.
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A new masterplan for the heritage-registered precinct, which has housed staff from the CSIRO for more than 45 years, has been the subject of an extensive community consultation project.
The plan includes constructing new single-level residential apartments with ageing-in-place options and aged care accommodation, along with a hotel in reused heritage buildings.
Building heights would be limited to levels within the tree canopy, while the total site would remain 60 per cent open space, the plan says.
The 11-hectare site was sold by the Commonwealth to Gunyar Pty Ltd in 2002, with the CSIRO retaining a 20-year lease.
The company named the Shepherd Foundation as the beneficiary of a trust which holds the site's Crown lease.
"The development would provide income to the property owner, the Shepherd Foundation, a registered charity whose primary purpose is to assist children with hearing loss," a spokeswoman for the project said in a statement.
"It would also provide revenue to ensure that the highly valued heritage buildings and treescape are maintained into the future."
"Without the ongoing revenue stream, the Shepherd Foundation would not be able to afford to properly maintain the site."
The Shepherd Foundation has appointed Sydney-based developer Oakstand to oversee the project.
The project's spokeswoman said a traffic study showed the "modest uplift" in traffic could be absorbed by the road network, which is due to be upgraded by the ACT government.
The National Capital Authority is yet to consider the application to change planning controls for the site. The proposal will be subject to a further community consultation process if it is provisionally accepted.
A heritage impact assessment completed by consultants ERM found development of the site would have a significant cumulative impact to the site's overall Commonwealth heritage values, but this impact could be mitigated.
"The proposed action also presents a unique opportunity for increased access and enhanced interpretation that can broaden the understanding of the values of the place and provide further context as to its national importance as the site of a former forestry school and research facility," the assessment said.
While the presence of the critically endangered golden sun moth was identified, a report prepared by Capital Ecology found "given the small area and degraded condition of the confirmed habitat, the small size of the [moth] population, and the low potential population viability, we expect that the impact would not be considered significant".
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
