The Canberra Business and Technology College has submitted a development application to build a new educational facility and residential precinct in Gungahlin town centre.
The college has proposed two buildings on the corner of Gungahlin Place and Camilleri Way that would include 46 residential apartments in one tower and an education establishment and motel in the other.
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College operators Akhilesh Arora and Rakesh Bhutani outbid developers for the ACT government-owned land in May last year, paying $5.1 million for the site known as block 4 section 246.
Planning documents show the 2705-square-metre block will include a pair of eight- and nine-storey towers, with two levels of underground basement car parking.
The smaller of the two buildings will be dedicated to residential apartments ranging from one-bedroom units to a four-bedroom unit. The second building, to the east of the site, will comprise the educational campus, a 28-room motel and associated restaurant facilities, plus ground-level commercial units. The building will also feature rooftop terraces across two levels with landscaping.
Mr Arora said the initial plan was to develop the block solely for educational purposes, however, the ACT government advised the project must include a component of affordable housing.
"Affordable [housing] definitely is a necessity in Canberra, so we agreed with them and we're doing a small residential tower as well," he said.
Six of the 46 apartments will be offered through the ACT's affordable housing scheme.
Mr Arora said while a price guide had yet to be determined for the units, he had already received strong buyer interest from college staff and graduates.
In its review of the plans, the National Capital Design Review Panel advised the applicant to consider and demonstrate how the development would encourage "positive interaction" between the student cohort and residents.
In response, the college said it anticipated running up to seven classes at a time with a maximum of 28 students in each class. Based on attendance data, the college estimated no more than 157 students would be on campus at any given time.
Nathan Judd, director of Judd Studio, the architects behind the project, said the design intention was create "a synergy between activity and amenity whilst minimising any undesirable overlaps".
"This has led us to organise the project as two buildings bisected by a service lane," he said.
He said the residential component would have an emphasis on "less apartments per floor plate, providing a higher proportion of two- and three-bedroom apartments and introducing floor-to-ceiling glass to create light-filled apartments".
Community consultation was conducted in November 2021 and included two public sessions.
Gungahlin Community Council president Peter Elford said the overwhelming response from the community was positive.
"The fact that is a substantive business that's coming to the town centre, creating a reason for people to come to the town centre, bringing students into the town centre - they are incredibly positive steps and most people are looking at it all very favourably," he said.
Mr Elford said the mix of commercial, educational and residential was welcome.
"The overwhelming majority of the developments [in Gungahlin] have been residential and those that are mixed-use have been very heavily weighted in favour of residential. So [this is] going to bring people to the town centre and potentially act as an incentive for other businesses to think about coming to Gungahlin," he said.
Mr Arora said the group intends to commence construction early next year for completion in 2024. The period for representations closes on February 28, 2022.
Canberra Business and Technology College also secured a second Gungahlin site, block 12 section 249, for $4.3 million in last year's auctions.
Plans are still in the works for that site, however, Mr Arora said a small accommodation facility with serviced apartments and a satellite campus for advanced cybersecurity courses were being considered.
