City Hill blocks to be sold but talks continue on lake reclamation
The first of the City Hill blocks will be sold off from July next year to make way for 350 apartments as part of the City to the Lake project, the budget shows.
The block is part of section 63, on London Circuit near Commonwealth Avenue. The ACT government's four-year land release program shows another part of the same block will be sold in 2020-2021 for another 350 apartments, bringing the total to 700.
The neighbouring section, which has sat undeveloped as a carpark on London Circuit for a number of years, was bought up by prominent developer Barry Morris earlier this year. Mr Morris will extend Edinburgh Avenue towards Vernon Circle, between the two pieces of land.
Land sales for apartments at West Basin itself, beside the lake, are scheduled to begin in three years' time, with the first block for 350 apartments to be sold in 2021-22.
The government has budgeted $37 million over the coming two years to reclaim about 2.5 hectares of lake bed at West Basin for an extension of the new boardwalk and to create more public land at the foreshore, including trunk pipework to prepare for the planning apartments.
But the government must first negotiate with the Commonwealth to take ownership of the lakebed, and talks are underway on a land swap. It is not clear what land the ACT might offer the Commonwealth in return, but the federal government has needs for more land for overseas missions. Once the land swap is settled, the ACT needs works approval, which could impact timing.
The government will sell three significant blocks to the Australian National University in 2019-20. The blocks, which include the bus layover on Marcus Clarke Street, are expected to be used for student accommodation. The budget papers don't nominate an expected sale price.
The budget also pushes ahead with the government's sale of dilapidated public housing blocks in Griffith, Narrabundah, Lyneham, and Lyons.
Stuart Flats in Griffith are set to be sold off in the coming financial year for 484 apartments. In April, the government lodged a development application to demolish the flats.
Also in 2018-19, Gowrie Court flats in Narrabundah will be also be sold for 177 apartments. And in Lyons, Strathgordon Court flats on Melrose Drive will be sold off for 704 high-rise apartments.
Former office block Macarthur House on Northbourne Avenue, which is being demolished by the government, will be sold in early 2019 and turned into 530 apartments.
Also on Northbourne, the two blocks directly north of Haig Park are about to be advertised for sale by tender - these releases are part of the current, 2017-18 budget.
Work will begin on section 72 behind the Dickson Pool in the coming financial year, with $1 million set aside for demolition. An affordable housing development is part of plans.
The coming 12 months will also see the first blocks release for new homes in Whitlam, Canberra's newest suburb. Whitlam, in the Molonglo Valley, will see 2130 houses and apartments built over four years, with 600 blocks released next fiinancal year. Blocks range from 150 square metres to 1000 square metres.
Another 500 blocks will be released in Taylor over the coming year, and 800 in the following year. Another 300 blocks will be sold in Jacka in 2019-20.
The cost of the mass buyback of Fluffy asbestos-contaminated homes has been reduced still further in the budget figures, with the scheme expected to cost taxpayers a net $295 million, down from a previously estimated $307 million and earlier figures of about $400 million.
Two sites in Gungahlin have been identified for aged care - to be released in 2018-19 and 2019-20 - and sites in Monash and Calwell have been identified for small-scale retirement or community uses.