Dame Pattie Menzies House sale part of Dickson Centre masterplan

Northbourne Avenue’s rejuvenation as the gateway into Canberra continues with the Land Development Agency calling tenders for the sale of Dame Pattie Menzies House in Dickson.

The Challis Street tender is being managed by JLL’s sales and investments head Michael Heather and its ACT managing director, Andrew Balzanelli.

The property, leased by the ACT government, comprises two interconnected commercial buildings with undercroft parking facing Challis Street over 3517 square metres.

Heather says the sale is part of the Dickson Centre masterplan.

“That aims to rejuvenate the Dickson centre, to make it a better place for residents, business and visitors,” he says.

“This includes attracting new retail, commercial and residential developments.”

Heather says the eventual purchaser will have several options.

“Both or one of the buildings could be refurbished or the entire site has the potential for later redevelopment in the form of a hotel or multi-unit residential development,” he says.

The property has a net lettable area of just under 7000 square metres, a five-star NABERS energy rating, and secure income with a three-year lease back to the ACT government along with two, one-year options.

Tenders for Dame Pattie Menzies House close on March 23.

Balzanelli says renewal and development activity happening across Canberra reflects a positive future for the ACT.

“Projects like the Dickson Centre masterplan, City to the Lake and the airport upgrades all help reinforce Canberra as a desirable place to live and work,” he says.

Meanwhile, the LDA is now evaluating tenders on the site of the Dickson Motor Vehicle Registry, also on Challis Street.

The land is being offered to a developer to build a government office block, as well as other commercial and residential developments opportunities.

Tender submissions are also still open on a significant stretch of Northbourne Avenue at Lyneham.

A former public housing site is being sold to accommodate up to 500 new apartments, as well as shops and offices along a nearly half-kilometre frontage of Canberra’s gateway boulevard.

Tenders close on March 15.

The Lyneham tender follows the August 2016 auction of a 30,000-square-metre site on Northbourne Avenue in Dickson that sold for $40 million.

The Art Group snapped up the huge site, previously home to the Dickson Towers and Karuah public housing blocks.

The site includes 500 metres of Northbourne Avenue frontage and will incorporate 697 dwellings in a mix of configurations including a hotel, restaurants, retail outlets and a childcare centre.