The sale is off. Signs have been up on the sites in Coombs and Wright for four years. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The proposed development of the Coombs and Wright Village in Molonglo faces a delay of at least two years after the Suburban Land Agency (SLA) cancelled the four-year-old sales process for the three pieces of land involved.
The keenly anticipated mixed-use village project will spread across the intersection of John Gorton Drive and Steve Irwin/Fred Daly avenues adjacent to Koko Molonglo.
The Estate Development Plan (EDP) development application (DA) submitted last year showed apartment blocks up to 10 storeys and ground-floor shops and cafe/restaurants across more than 25,000 square metres of land, as well as a revamp of the Coombs park and adjacent Beecroft Street.
It proposed an increased yield of up to 520 apartments across the three blocks, 200 more than allowed.
A landscaped plaza is planned behind the John Gorton Drive frontage. The plaza’s water feature would be surrounded by more mixed-use buildings ranging from four to eight storeys and greater areas of one-storey shops, services and hospitality outlets.
A new multi-storey Coombs Community Centre will also be built on the corner of Fred Daly Avenue and Beecroft Street.
But all this is on hold with the SLA citing the need for design changes identified during the DA assessment to be reflected in a new sales process.
The three sites in Coombs and Wright to be re-released. Photo: SLA.
It expected to re-release the three blocks over the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years.
The SLA said the Design and Place Framework developed with community feedback from the 2021 consultation would continue to be the foundation for developing the village.
The SLA has engaged an urban designer/planner and retail consultant to help modify the DA based on feedback from the assessment process.
The SLA did not detail the specific design areas in need of change.
“Once planning approvals are secured, SLA will update the Design and Place Framework to advise the community of how the community’s vision will be realised and re-release the sites to the market,” an SLA spokesperson said.
“Timings for the Coombs and Wright Village are yet to be determined given a number of factors until the development and construction process commences.”
The SLA did not say what form the land sale would take but the previous release was a two-stage expression of interest tender process, allowing for an assessment of market interest while working through planning and design issues to secure approval.
An artist’s impression of the plaza planned for the proposed Coombs and Wright Village. Image: SLA.
The sale process cancellation and project delay are a blow to the growing Molonglo Valley community which has endured a lack of shops and services for many years.
A third supermarket only just opened in the district when Aldi joined Woolworths at Koko Molonglo, while Coombs shops still have many vacant units including a 1000 square metre space for a supermarket.
Molonglo Valley Community Forum convenor Ryan Hemsley said the cancellation was a disappointing delay to a project many years in the making.
“Whatever happens with these sites must be informed by the views of the community, as articulated in the Coombs and Wright Village Design and Place Framework,” he said.
“Following the Coombs shops debacle, a failure to get this project right will cast a long and damaging shadow over the government’s ability to successfully deliver the future Molonglo Valley Town Centre.”
The EDP aimed to transform John Gorton Drive into a transport boulevard, upgrade bus stops and shelters, and allow for a future light rail line and station in the village.
It proposed a new main street environment along Steve Irwin and Fred Daly avenues, redesigning them to become destination streets.
The cycling network through the area was also to be redesigned, allowing for a transition from on-road lanes to dedicated paths to shared paths.
The streetscapes were also to be heavily treed with the goal to create a pedestrian-orientated main street connecting Coombs and Wright through the John Gorton Drive intersection.
