Shoptop Townhouses Plan Revealed for Canberra’s North

Developer Giles Deakin has filed plans for a neighbourhood centre with apartments atop for a site in one of Canberra’s key suburbs.  

Proposed is a new Taylor Local Centre for a 5120sq m site at Block 1, Section 60, Taylor, 21km north of the CBD.

The centre would become the local shopping centre for the suburb, the developers propose, offering a gross floor area of 8346 square metres.

Plans for the centre, created by Dezignteam, show a three-storey block with a supermarket, and commercial and retail space on the ground floor, and 38 two-storey townhouses above.

There would also be a basement level for 97 carparking spaces while a road reserve on the northern and western property boundaries would offer 72 carparking spaces, including three accessible parking spaces. 

Another 56 carparking spaces were also available within 175m of the site, the plans said. 

The vacant site fronts Robin Boyd Crescent, Grenfell Avenue and Langmead Street, and is next to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple at 236 Robin Boyd Crescent. 

▲ A render of the proposed Taylor Local Centre.

Application documents list the total cost of works at $16 million. 

According to media reports, Giles Deakin is believed to have acquired Section 60 Block 1 in 2023 for $4 million through a government tender process.

Development of Taylor began in 2017. It is named after magazine publisher Florence Mary Taylor, who edited and wrote for several Australian building industry journals, including the influential Building magazine.

It is about 4km from the Gungahlin Town Centre, which has major supermarkets, shopping outlets, medical facilities, cafes and restaurants.