ACT to revitalise sleepy shopping centres with residential development
The holistic approach will present opportunities for residential and commercial real estate alike.
With an era of rapid home building upon us, housing advocates are increasingly calling for governments to ensure that these new dwellings are “well-located”. In Canberra, that’s reportedly going to see the territory make a concerted effort to revamp the areas around its shopping centres.
ACT Minister for Planning, Chris Steel, signalled earlier this week that the government would launch a project to investigate the development opportunities around the city’s shopping hubs in an effort to ensure the liveability of new homes and revitalise these commercial centres.
Mr Steel indicated that no stone will be left unturned in this project, indicating he would soon be asking the Planning Directorate to pursue work that would allow “more homes and better shopping centres, at every shopping centre, local and group centre in Canberra”.
It is welcome news to the Property Council, who have long flagged that the city’s centres of commerce may not be serving city-building as best they can.
The council’s ACT and Capital Region executive director, Shane Martin, explained growth in the retail sector that kicked off during the pandemic was at a pivotal point if the city wanted to encourage further expansion.
“Our group and local centres are building momentum since the pandemic, and now is the time to take advantage of that and see them continue to grow. Now is the time to take more seriously our group and local centres as future redevelopment opportunities for a sustainable Canberra,” Mr Martin said.
In the eyes of the Property Council, growing these centres into busting, community-centred experiences will involve a holistic approach that looks at residential potential as well as how the commercial assets themselves are set up.
The council argued that the government should be considering a number of approaches to the project, including:
- Examining the redevelopment potential of government-owned car parks and urban open spaces for affordable, retirement/rightsizing and social housing opportunities.
- Reinvesting any Lease Variation Charges gained by redevelopment back into the local public realm in the vicinity of shopping hubs.
- Incentivising the amalgamation of blocks so that all shops within a development can come under a common ownership arrangement and can therefore be redeveloped as part of an integrated redevelopment strategy.
- Allowing for buildings that contain both commercial and residential stock to pay only the relevant rates for the percentage of each, without needing to be unit titled.
- Supporting new electrical infrastructure to pave the way for the future needs.
“There are excellent examples of successful mixed-use shopping centres, such as the Denman Village Local Shops, which are exemplars for what can be done throughout Canberra,” said Mr Martin.
“We are excited to see the next phase of policy reform in planning here in the ACT, especially with a new minister who oversees both our planning and transport portfolios,” he added.