Reports Geocon has bought 92 Northbourne Avenue in Canberra

Geocon looks set to secure a prime slice of real estate in the heart of Canberra.

Industry sources have confirmed the local developer has bought the 6270-square-metre site at 92 Northbourne Avenue.

The site, which includes NRMA House, has been approved for commercial and multi-unit residential use and is expected to fetch more than $20 million.

Insurance Australia Group listed 92 Northbourne Avenue in April through selling agent CBRE. 

Most of the interested parties were local and interstate developers looking at redeveloping the block for apartment accommodation.

Expressions of interest closed on May 5.

Geocon and CBRE have not confirmed reports of the sale and have not commented on the rumoured deal.

Any new owner is expected to knock down NRMA House, which was built in the 1970s, to make way for new development.

The insurance company occupies two of the six floors, however it will only take a short lease back, providing developers with the opportunity to take advantage of its vacant possession.

The sale comes at a time of major redevelopment along the Northbourne Avenue corridor and around Canberra’s CBD, as run-down public housing buildings are razed and tenants relocated across the capital.

The Currong and Allawa flats sites, also in Braddon sold at auction for $47 million in February.

A site on the corner of Northbourne and Macarthur avenues is also set to be redeveloped into mixed-use precinct, Midtown, which will include residential units and a 176-room Mantra Hotel.

Number 92 Northbourne Avenue has a triple street frontage onto Northbourne Avenue, Elouera Street and Mort Street, making it ideal for residential use.

The current structure stands at just six storeys but developers are expected to replace it with a taller building.

As a high-density residential development, the site could accommodate up to 250 apartments.

The proposed Capital Metro light rail route will also run past the site, with a stop planned nearby at Elouera Street.

The demand for inner-city residential developments has surged in recent years. One-third of Allara Street’s Highgate development sold prior to its release last month.