An artist’s impression of The Lord, a mixed-use proposal for Philip. Image: Studio Architecture and Interiors.
The proponents of a mixed-use development in the Phillip service district will return to the ACT Supreme Court after again falling foul of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Peter Micalos’s IP Property has been trying to redevelop the site at 9 Botany Street since 2021, when it first proposed a four-storey plus attic, mixed-use project with 38 units and ground-floor commercial tenancies.
In 2022, that morphed into a hotel with 56 serviced apartments, a pub with a beer garden and restaurant, and a ground-floor espresso bar. The IP Property website shows that the number of serviced apartments proposed is now 62.
But the Planning Authority twice refused the development application, on 11 June 2024, and the reconsideration on 1 November.
In March 2025, IP Property submitted new plans to ACAT as part of its bid for review, but the Tribunal took only a day to view the site and hand down its decision the next day to dismiss the application.
IP Property then appealed in the ACT Supreme Court, with Acting Justice Andrew Muller finding that ACAT had declined to hear oral evidence, did not provide the applicant with sufficient time to make certain submissions, and incorrectly considered time limits under section 22P of the ACAT Act.
He ordered the matter back to ACAT to be heard properly, but ACAT has again confirmed the Planning Authority’s refusal.
Mr Micalos said IP Property intended to lodge another appeal in the ACT Supreme Court, saying the decision contained significant errors.
IP Property attempted to have the Senior Members who originally ruled against it disqualified, but they refused to disqualify themselves at a September 2025 hearing.
A further hearing was held in November.
The Planning Authority had issues with several aspects of the proposed development, such as the unsuitability of the land, parking, changes to the Crown lease, and a lack of support from utilities and Transport Canberra and City Services.
It did not support IP Property’s bid for a conditional approval, instead preferring an amendment to the DA as it believed these conditions would significantly alter the development, such as swapping the restaurant for a substation.
IP Property was also prepared to relinquish the pub in favour of restaurant use under the Crown lease.
The developer contended that ACAT could approve the development subject to certain conditions, but the Tribunal found it lacked the necessary power to amend the proposal by condition.
ACAT revisited the Planning Authority’s grounds for refusing the DA and reconsideration but agreed that the planning rules had not been met.
“As compliance with them is mandatory, the development application is inconsistent with the Code and cannot be approved,” ACAT said.
“We have also considered IP’s failure to provide information required by TCCS as required by section 120 regarding its concerns as adding weight to our conclusion that the making of the condition should be declined on discretionary grounds in addition to our view that we do not have sufficient knowledge to be confident that we could impose valid conditions.”
When it first proposed the redevelopment in 2020, IP Property said it would be the first urban renewal project in the precinct since the ACT Government finalised its master plan for the area and would drive the revitalisation of that part of Phillip.
A social media post at the time announced its vision for the area, saying the Phillip service precinct could be the ‘Braddon of the South’.
At present, an undistinguished two-storey building occupies the site, and it sits among used car yards near a laundromat and cake shop.
But introducing mixed use to the precinct has proven contentious, with some fearing a loss of services and businesses.
