The Canberra Cohousing team on the adjacent new park developed by the ACT Government. Photo: Canberra Cohousing.
An innovative cohousing development pitched for a public site in Watson as part of the ACT Government’s Demonstration Housing Project has been invited to submit a tender for the land.
It’s been a slow train coming for Canberra Cohousing, which formed in 2018. In May 2023, it secured an architect, AMC Architecture, and a tender was expected last June, but the invitation was only issued in January. The group now has until 11 June to submit its tender.
Managing that process is Mitch Porteous from the community urban development firm Demobia, who says this is the first time the group has actually had the opportunity to buy and develop the 5000 sqm block in Section 76 on Aspinall Street.
Cohousing Canberra has an architect and master plan, a development partner in KDN Group, and can now submit plans for the 30-unit project, featuring high sustainability features. The project will comprise a mix of individual residences, shared spaces, and common property, including a common house and gardens.
Mr Porteous said this would be the largest co-housing development in the ACT since the 1960s.
He said it was about bringing the village to the suburbs and adapting it for modern times.
It would also serve as a role model for future developments of its kind in Canberra.
“I think that’s something that’s really exciting about this development,” Mr Porteous said.
The Watson cohousing masterplan showing the residences, common house, shared garden and parking. Image: AMC Architecture.
The project and design have evolved over the years through many workshops with members and consultations with other co-housing projects.
There have been recent minor design changes related to setbacks, but the fundamentals remain the same.
Mr Porteous said Cohousing Canberra needed to provide detailed plans, demonstrate community demand and show that it wasn’t just different or cost-effective but innovative.
He said the group and KDN would split the $100,000 cost of the tender 50:50, and Cohousing Canberra was raising its share from 10 members willing to contribute $5000, which would also secure them first pick of a unit.
The purchase of land and the development itself would be financed at market value, much like any other off-the-plan project.
It will still need to have an affordable component, but that will be subsidised through the development.
Until the government is in a position to value the land, the cost of development and price points for the units cannot be established.
Mr Porteous said the group had been in a holding pattern to determine the financial feasibility of the project, as that could not be done until there was a valuation of the land or at least the ability to purchase it.
“It’s so exciting for the chance to finally be here to purchase the land,” he said.
Mr Porteous expected a rush of new memberships now the project was getting closer to a start.
He said KDN managing director George D Katheklakis had taken a keen interest in the cohousing project for many years.
“He was really keen to see more of this development, so it just seems like a really good marriage,” Mr Porteous said.
As part of the arrangement, KDN will carry the financial and development risk for the project.
In 2021, the Territory Plan was altered to allow cohousing on part of section 76.
An information session for members and the public will be held on 4 May, including a walking tour of the site and a presentation at the nearby Youth With A Mission (YWAM) site.
To learn more, visit the Canberra Cohousing website.
