A third of Allara Street's Highgate development sells pre-launch

An 18-storey mixed-used development slated for Canberra’s CBD is closer to fruition with a third of the building’s 190 units selling within a fortnight.

Colliers International will officially launch Highgate on Saturday, however, more than 60 one, two and three-bedroom apartments have already sold via a two-week VIP pre-release.

The top sale, a three-bedroom unit with an 127-square-metre living area and a 21-square-metre balcony, fetched $1,149,900, with pre-release sale prices beginning at $359,900.

Construction of the complex is expected to begin early next year and is due to be completed in mid-2018.

It will offer 63 one-bedroom, 97 two-bedroom and 30 three-bedroom apartments, plus two levels of commercial space on the ground floor and first floor and five levels of car parking.

A podium on the 10th storey will include a gym, swimming pool, private theatre and outdoor area.

A two-storey office building facing Allara Street at the southern end of the block will remain.

Colliers International director of Residential Project Marketing, Derek Whitcombe, said the development had already generated a lot of interest, including the commercial space.

“There has been strong interest in the high quality retail and restaurant premises that will go into the ground floor at Highgate fronting City Walk, offering north-facing alfresco dining in a treed environment,” he said.

Highgate follows Colliers International’s 16-storey Mayfair development on the former site of Canberra House.

Construction group Morris Property Group is behind both developments.

Development manager Barry Morgan said Highgate’s location in the centre of Canberra’s CBD, and its amenities, had driven strong demand.

“We see Highgate as the next phase of the continued rejuvenation of Canberra city, with the new apartments and additional retail and dining amenities bringing more people to City Walk and linking the area to the casino entertainment precinct and to the long-term vision of City to the Lake,” he said.

“Buyers are able to see that Highgate offers true inner-city living, and are drawn to the prospect of living in the very heart of Canberra’s retail, theatre and entertainment district.”

The Highgate display apartment at the corner of Allara Street and City Walk will also open on Saturday.