Construction of a shopping centre is set to begin next month at the long-dormant Giralang shops site after years of delays.
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TP Dynamics have purchased the development from Giralang Property Group, who have owned the property since the 1970s. TP Dynamics plan to open a new shopping centre in 18 months, with construction set to begin in November.
Residents of the Belconnen suburb have been without a shopping centre since 2005, after the old shops closed to make way for a redevelopment. What followed was 16 years of delays, legal proceedings and an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry prompted by a public petition.
Re-establishment of the Canopus Street site is planned to begin in the next two weeks with construction to follow, and completion in mid-2024.
TPD director Tony Pan said the development was a natural fit for their business, adding to a suite of properties under construction in northern Canberra.
"We have close ties to Canberra's north with our head office in Bruce, a mixed-use development currently underway in Dickson (the new Dickson Village including Coles), and residential developments at Yowani Golf Club and Bruce," he said.
"We are delighted to have this opportunity and we look forward to delivering a vibrant local shops precinct for the Giralang community."
The project was stalled in 2020 after a supermarket anchor tenant was not secured.
Mr Pan insisted he was confident they would find a tenant. He said the business was in discussions with multiple supermarket operators and had been successful with similar sites across Canberra.
The new owners plan to build the complex without changes to an existing approved development application which includes a 1000 square metre shopping precinct and 50 residential apartments.
Giralang Property director Dimitri Nikias said the sale was the right decision to deliver the local shops as soon as possible.
"This delivers certainty to the local community as well as enhancements to the surrounding public realm," he said.
"The development will be completed as per the approved precinct plan including reconfiguration and improvement of the school drop off zone on Atalumba Close, bicycle storage shelter, new parking and increased access to the Giralang Nature Playground on Menkar Close, and increased pedestrian accessibility to the shopping centre from Canopus Crescent."
Nick Thomson from the Giralang Action Group is confident the project will finally go ahead.
"Hopefully this is the end of a 17-year-long nightmare," he said.
"I moved here in 1979 and the shops for about 20 years were very much the heart and soul of the community. Not having anything, except a building site, has been really hard."
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ACT Planning Minister Mick Gentleman in August 2018 used call-in powers to approve a development application at Giralang shops site, but the project stalled in 2020 after a supermarket anchor tenant was not secured.
That decision prompted a bitter stoush between other local supermarket operators who launched legal action over what they saw as over-development of the Giralang site.
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