Construction Start Set for $143m Googong Town Centre

Construction of the $143 million town centre of Googong, a greenfields development in the Canberra region will start this year.

Developed by Peet Limited and Mirvac, the masterplanned township is expected to house 18,000 people across 6,200 dwellings as it reaches completion over the next 15 years.

It is expected “Googong Central” will feature 1,800 new houses as well as the core business and retail section of the neighbourhood. The town centre is located within the 780-hectare Googong site 16 kilometres south-east of Parliament House.

The developers said that the township’s retail centre will contribute around $185 million per annum to the local retail industry.

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"This is the biggest development application since the 800-hectare Googong site was first approved in 2011 and it's an important milestone for the community," Googong project director Malcolm Leslie said.

"Googong Central will bring new facilities and services to town so residents don't have to leave to access good shopping, great schools, and choices in healthcare and recreation.

"Employment is an important part of that. The town centre will create more opportunities for people to work close to home, particularly young people and working parents,” he said.

"The choice in housing will be bigger too, to meet growing demand in the wider Canberra market. The town centre will cater for different lifestyles, with apartments, compact lots and terraces, as well as traditional lots for families who want space and a big backyard."

Peet and Mirvac are predicting 4,500 new residents to Googong as its town centre takes shape.

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The developers hope to create a completely self-contained community, providing necessary amenities to complement the dwellings and retail offerings like a school, library, community centre, recreational facilities and Wi-Fi connectivity.

More than 23 per cent of Googong’s area will be dedicated to open spaces, with plans to revegetate degraded areas with native species and protect native grasslands and the habitats of threatened species.

Construction on Googong Central is due to start in May 2018 with major supermarkets expected to open in 2024-25.