Community Consultation

Amalgamated Property Group are proud to present our ideas to the Canberra community for Turner Place.

Block 4, Section 57, Turner ACT

This is an incredibly important site – forming part of the entry sequence to our Nation’s capital. In designing Turner Place, we have drawn inspiration from some of the world’s most civic cities; London, Berlin, Washington DC etc., and from the landscape of the Australian bush. Our references to grand civic cities of the world are in the permanence and structure of their buildings. Our proposal for Turner Place is to learn from the simplicity, geometry and materiality of these Continental buildings and propose something equivalent, but uniquely Australian.

With its strong geometric presence, Turner Place will respond directly to place, through its connection to the seat of Parliament and the importance of the city as a mirror to the people and culture of Australia, and through its materiality and colours which reflect the landscape and colours of the Aussie bush. The terracotta-tones and warm greys of the stone base, through to the earthy tones of the brickwork and crispness of the white touching the sky, gives this high-density building an identity that reflects both Australia and Australians.

The dwellings are each appointed with large balconies connecting the interior and exterior spaces, and are orientated to take advantage of light and ventilation. They are organised to create a protected common green at the centre of the site. Above all, Turner Place is about addressing context and creating great places to live; our ambition is that Turner Place will be memorable, desirable and become the apartment project of choice for people living in Canberra.

• Five interconnected buildings, stepping from 8 storeys along the eastern boundary to 6 along the west
• 418 apartments with generous 1, 2 and 3 bedroom floorplans
• A large central landscaped courtyard with site through links for connectivity
• High level of amenity with gymnasium, indoor pool, steam and sauna rooms, rooftop gardens, concierge services and multi-purpose resident spaces.
• Three levels of basement carparking

Typical Floorplans

What makes a good floorplan, a great floorplan – critical details in Amalgamated homes:

• Kitchens to be spacious and functional with generous bench space and a preference for island benches wherever possible.
• Externally ducted rangehoods and ducted air-conditioning wherever possible.
• Master Bedrooms with minimum dimensions of 3.0m x 3.2m, but wherever possible we chase greater size.
• Second Bedrooms targeting a minimum of 3.0m x 3.0m.
• Ensuites to be functional and dimensioned in sizes for real humans, with a preference for double vanities and baths wherever possible.
• The Main Bathroom’s functionality is critical and must include adequate circulation space and have door swings allowed for, and not compromised.
• Depth of the units should be limited to allow penetration of light throughout all living areas.
• Hallways are to be minimised to allow true value for buyers in their per metre rates.
• Privacy of the occupant should always be preserved through implementing the design principle of first function, and then form.
• Minimum of 1 lift to every 60 apartments and a redundancy incorporated in case of breakdown or moving days taking a lift offline.
• Natural light to the floor foyers and halls wherever feasible.

Landscape Plans

Designing with Country

In response to the large catchment area and diverse population of the ACT, this project seeks to acknowledge the relationships this creates, to establish integration through designing with Country. The project recognises the contributions of the Ngunnawal people and engages with the Indigenous perspective, bringing together all the different layers of history and meaning.

Embedded in existing natural bushland, the site offers unique opportunities for connection and integration of Country through access to views, provision of landscaped courtyards, clearly established public paths of travel and reference to the contextual environment through colours, built articulation and a high performing development.

There are a number of opportunities to action this through the landscape design. Taking cues from Country, the colour and material choices of the design concept across the various levels of the development reference the Earth, Vegetation and Sky.

Landscape Objectives

• Develop an overarching vision and design philosophy for a distinctive urban and landscape design ‘theme’ for Turner Place.
• Reflect the uniqueness of the surrounding character.
• Provide sensitive visual and physical transition between surrounding areas.
• Preserve and enhance the natural landscape setting and features of the site.
• Provide a village focus meeting convenience, social and cultural needs and aspirations of the community
• Connect and integrate existing and new communities and uses physically, socially and economically
• Preserve water quality.
• Meet best practice guidelines in social, environmental and economic sustainability.

Vision

• To be the new place that is shaped purely by its unique location, local history, natural environment and surrounding recreational assets.
• To be the all-embracing landscape setting that people live in, linking them to their natural surroundings
• To be the place that is founded on best practice environmental design, water management, landscape diversity and energy efficiency.
• To be all about people in their landscape.

Values

• Embody human relationships.
• Create a sense of place.

Requirements of the Territory Plan

The subject site is located on Territory land and so planning approval is required to be sought through a Development Application (DA) the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. Additional controls apply to the block under the National Capital Plan due to the site being located in the City and Gateway Corridor of Northbourne Avenue, however a separate approval to the National Capital Authority is not required and these National Capital Plan requirements are to be addressed through the DA submission.

Provided below is a planning statement detailing how the proposed development responds to the key planning requirements of the Territory Plan controls.

CZ5 – Mixed use zone
The subject site is zoned ‘CZ5 – Mixed Use’ under the Territory Plan and a response against the zone objectives is provided below.

Zone objectives
a) Encourage higher density residential development in locations with convenient access to transport corridors, and commercial and employment centres
This development is located adjoining the light rail corridor and is in close proximity to Canberra’s CBD

b) Create an efficient and sustainable urban environment and provide for a diversity of living, working and recreation opportunities
The proposed development comprises a medium-density urban development that provides amenity for residents and a diversity of dwelling typologies to suit a range of lifestyles and household types.

c) Maintain and enhance environmental amenity and undertake development using best practice environmentally sustainable development principles
The proposed development has been designed to achieve a high standard of environmental amenity including solar access, natural ventilation, water quality, provision of green infrastructure to improve thermal performance and preserve the natural landscape features of the site.

d) Encourage a standard of urban design that is consistent with selected major avenues, approach routes and other strategically located areas
The architectural character of the development has been developed to respond to the site context along the Northbourne Avenue corridor and to reflect a high standard of design quality and materiality that is appropriate for the location of the site along a Main Avenue.

e) Encourage activities particularly at street frontage level that contribute to an active public realm
The proposal interfaces with the adjoining public realm at street level through ground floor dwellings to provide activation and support crime prevention outcomes.

f) Promote active living and active travel
The site is afforded excellent proximity to cycle networks and pedestrian paths that will promote active living, and the proposed mid-block link contributes to providing connectivity through Turner.

g) Provide a high quality public realm by facilitating active uses on ground floor level that connects with the wider open space, pedestrian and cycle networks to promote active travel and active living
The proposed development incorporates a carefully considered landscape design strategy that encourages use of communal open space areas and integrates with the surrounding public realm to provide amenity and encourage active living.

h) Provide a mixture of compatible land uses and integrate suitable business, office, residential, retail and other development in accessible locations so as to encourage walking and cycling, and maximise public transport patronage
The proposed development comprises residential uses only and there is no requirement to provide commercial uses in this location. The density of the development, its central location and provision of pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure will assist to promote walking, cycling and use of public transport.

Response addressing key planning controls

Northbourne Avenue Corridor Precinct Map and Code

R/C6 & 7 Height of Building
The site includes areas that are within Area A and Area B of Figure 1 of the Precinct Code. The maximum building heights (excluding minor building elements that may extend above) are as follows:

• Area A (part of site facing Northbourne Avenue): 20-25m under the rule and up to 27.5m under the criterion
• Area B (part of site facing Forbes Street): 14.5-18m under the rule and up to 25m under the criterion

The development contains buildings of differing heights that maintain compliance with the maximum overall height limits for Areas A and B respectively under the criterion. The proposed apartment buildings consist of six blocks of up to 7 and 9 storeys above ground level, which reflect these maximum building heights.

R/C10 & 12 Front and side boundary setbacks

Based on Figure 2 of the code, under the rule the minimum front boundary building setback which is fronting Northbourne Avenue is 10m and the minimum setback to other front boundaries is 6m. The side boundary to Block 3 to the north has a minimum setback of 5m. A criterion is available for front and side boundary setbacks such that elements may encroach into these setbacks where they address amenity requirements and provide sufficient space for tree planting.

The proposal is capable of meeting the setback requirements, and where any minor variations are proposed from the rule these address the requirements of the criterion.

R/C14-16 Building separation

Based on Figure 3 of the code which specifies building separation requirements for sites in Areas B1 and B2, these controls are not applicable to the subject block, which is located in Area A.

C21 Landscape design – deep soil zones

Deep soil zones are provided on site for the establishment of landscape areas, which include the retention of existing mature trees located on the site to contribute to the landscape design and streetscape character and provide amenity for residents.

C23 Mid-block links

Based on Figure 4 of the code, the subject site is required to provide a publicly accessible mid-block active travel link. The proposed development includes a mid-block link that meets the requirements of the criterion.

R/C27 Solar access to adjoining blocks

The subject block does not adjoin any development blocks that are located to the south and retains reasonable solar access during the day to adjoining development to the west on Forbes Street.

R/C28 Private open space

Based on Table 4 of the code, the subject site is required to provide private open space at different sizes depending on the dwelling types and their location. The development has been designed to achieve these outcomes for the different dwelling types proposed either by meeting the rule or addressing the criterion to provide reasonable functionality and amenity for residents.

R/C33 & 36 Parking

Sites within the Northbourne Avenue corridor reflect reduced resident and visitor parking provision rates being 1/1.3/1.5 parking spaces per 1/2/3 bedroom dwelling, and one visitor space per 8 dwellings. The proposed yield of 418 dwellings generates a requirement for parking based on these rates, and the parking provision for the development is able to meet these parking requirements on site entirely within basement levels.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Please take the time to review answers to the most common questions that have been raised during the community consultation period:

1. What will be the size of the setbacks on Northbourne and Forbes Street?
   10m setbacks on Northbourne Avenue and 6m setbacks on Forbes Street.
2. How many of the existing trees were retained on the site?
   Removed – 13 | Retained – 30 | Proposed New Trees – 118.
   Refer to Tree Canopy drawing on this Public Consultation Website in the Landscape section.
3. Have you restricted the building height to 18m along Forbes St?
   Under the Northbourne Avenue Precinct Code, the minimum building height along Forbes Street is 14.5m and maximum building height is 18m under the rule, however, additional height of up to 25m is allowed under the criterion. In our design, the buildings along Forbes Street vary between 18m and 21m.
4. How many stories will face Northbourne Avenue, and how many will face Forbes Street?
   Northbourne Avenue – 9 stories. Forbes Street – varies between 6 and 7 stories.
5. How will you ensure privacy for existing residents of the area who will have new apartments looking towards them?
   Apartments been designed to allow for appropriate privacy measures for residents and neighbours, including having solid balustrades on balconies, and the majority of external glazing being setback from the building façade.
6. How will cycling and pedestrian traffic on Forbes Street be protected?
   Under the Project Delivery Agreement with the Suburban Land Agency, Amalgamated will deliver upgrades to the site at its own expense to be gifted back to the Territory at completion. This includes a new 2.5m wide shared pathway along Forbes Street.
7. Are the interior hallways well ventilated and do they provide sufficient separation and privacy for residents?
   Part of Amalgamated’s development philosophy is to create small intimate communities within our developments. By breaking down the buildings into multiple cores and reducing the number of units per floor, it helps assist to build communities within the development; Turner Place has 10 separate cores and between 3 and 9 units per floor. Further, Amalgamated seeks to have natural light and ventilation wherever possible. This has been achieved in all 10 cores within this development.
8. How many units (maximum) are actually planned for the site?
   We have planned for 418 units, which is well below the 477 that is actually permitted under the Crown Lease.
9. How will the impact of three levels of car parking on groundwater flows be assessed?
   A part of Amalgamated’s development process is extensive due diligence into the geological and hydrological composition of the site. Groundwater wells will be monitored prior to, and during, construction to ensure adequate hydraulic provisions.
10. What is the mix of 1, 2 and 3/4 bedroom apartments?
    1 Bedrooms – 47%, 2 Bedrooms – 37% and 3 Bedrooms – 21%
11. EV Chargers for each unit is a great EV outcome. Will there be 10% EV charging spaces for visitors?
    Each unit will be provided with appropriate provisions for an EV charger, as well as 10% of visitor spaces.
12. Where are the summer shadow diagrams?
    The required documentation by EPSDD only requires shadow diagrams in winter, specifically the 21^st of June (winter solstice); this is when the sun is at its lowest and results in the greatest shadows. As such, the shadow diagrams during summer would show a reduced level of shadows.
13. What steps have you taken during design to consider noise impacts of the development?
    An acoustic study has been conducted, and all recommendations will be adopted in the design development stage prior to construction.
14. How can we raise issues beyond this consultation?
    We are always here to listen, Amalgamated has a long-standing reputation of working with community councils and the broader community. Please feel free to contact Amalgamated at any time | Email us >
15. Mixed use was the initial proposal but no longer?  
    Amalgamated have never proposed a mixed-use for this site.
16. When does this whole complex look to be completed? 
    Dependent on Development Approvals, likely duration of construction will be 2.5 to 3 years.