Where land will be released across Canberra in the 2016-2017 year

The rejuvenation of deteriorating public housing sites across Canberra and the expansion of the ACT’s newest suburbs will contribute to the release of 4550 residential dwelling sites and 260,434 square metres of other land in the 2016-2017 year.

Land releases will also spark redevelopment in some of the territory’s most established suburbs.

The ACT government is set to secure $629,801,000 of revenue from its indicative land release program for the next financial year, according to this year’s territory budget.

It includes the release of 4550 residential dwelling sites, 131,404 square metres of community, non-urban land, 86,219 square metres of mixed-used sites, 12,811 square metres of commercial land and 30,000 square metres of industrial land.

A large portion of newly available property will be freed up as rundown public housing sites across central Canberra are razed and sold as part of the federal government’s Asset Recycling Scheme.

The government expects to release enough space for 1940 residential dwelling sites, plus 61,505 square metres of land earmarked for mixed-use development and 3515 square metres of commercially-zoned space, in the next 12 months as part of the scheme.

This includes sites at Bega Court, Northbourne Flats, Currong Apartments, Stuart Flats, Strathgordon Court and Lyneham Flats.

In the May the ACT government announced more property buybacks to replace the outdated and unsuitable public housing stock, as it tries to spread public housing much more evenly around Canberra.

The Dickson motor vehicle inspection station will be relocated to Hume and the remaining land also sold as part of the scheme.

The government’s sale of the old Canberra Brickworks site in Yarralumla will be another big contributor to the 2016-2017 program.

The site, which is expected to be snapped up by a developer by early 2017, will account for 380 new residential dwellings and 16 hectares of mixed use space.

Another major project will be the release of 80,000 square metres of community land in Taylor for a new school, plus another 400 residential dwelling sites in the new Gungahlin suburb.

More residential land will become available in other new areas including 410 dwelling sites in Throsby, 300 dwelling sites in West Belconnen, 230 sites in Coombs, 90 sites in Moncrieff and eight at the Amaroo group centre on Pioneer Street.

Canberrans can also expect more residential development in the inner south, with 168 dwelling sites earmarked for land in Forrest near Forrest Primary School, between Canberra Avenue, State Circle and Hobart Avenue.

Another 100 dwelling sites will be release on Goyder Street in Narrabundah, near Marymead.

In Monash, the government has identified 120 residential dwelling sites and 41,897 square metres of community land as an opportunity to develop more housing for aged residents.

A Land Development Agency spokeswoman said the pocket of land was located on Clive Steele Avenue, behind the Canberra Islamic Centre.

The 2016-2017 land release program is also set to spark further lakeside development.

More than 1000 square metres of space along Lake Ginninderra near the Belconnen Town Centre could be transformed into an entertainment precinct, subject to a future development application.

The spokeswoman said the development of the former water police headquarters site at Evelyn Parker Place, near the Lake Ginninderra Sea Scouts Hall, would exclude existing mature trees south of the road, a retaining wall, jetty and boat ramp.

“The Belconnen Town Centre master plan characterises the lakefront site as being part of a future mixed-use entertainment precinct,” she said. 

Further south, another 404 residential dwellings will become available along Lake Tuggeranong in Greenway as part of two new blocks, one with access from Drakeford Drive and the other from Mortimer Lewis Drive.

More childcare centres are on the cards thanks to upcoming land releases in Curtin and Charnwood.

This will include the 3638-square-metre site of the former Belconnen Fire Station at the corner of Lhotsky Street and Florey Drive and 3873 square metres of land at the former Curtin Primary School site on Carruthers Street, the spokeswoman said.

Another 1996 square metres of community land will become available at the former Red Hill preschool site on Quiros Street.

The Mawson group centre is set to transform with the release of 5202 square metres of commercial space at Heard Street, subject to a Territory Plan variation and in line with Mawson group centre master plan.

In the city, an existing car park at 17 Childers Street will also be redeveloped for commercial purposes.

The LDA spokeswoman said the ANU would directly sell the 3024-square-metre site.

The incoming land release program will also extend existing industrial sites, including an extra 10,000 square metres of mixed industrial use land at Symonston’s Amtech Estate and another 20,000 square metres of industrial land at Hume’s New West estate.