Housing Agency Plots 57-Unit Social Scheme in ACT’s Jacka

Housing ACT has filed plans for a trio of apartment buildings in a “small-scale neighbourhood” in the national capital.

The government public homes agency has commissioned 57 social housing apartments at Block 1, Section 44, at Jacka, a new neighbourhood being developed by the Suburban Land Agency (SLA).

The neighbourhood, about 22km north of the centre of Canberra, is planned to become home to 1800 people. 

The site proposed for the 57 homes is opposite Everist Park and within walking distance of future shops, according to the development outcomes report submitted to the ACT Department of Planning. 

The buildings would comprise 14 types of apartments, from one and two-bedroom units to larger family-sized three and four-bedroom units. 

The three-storey building would be consolidated by a basement, with communal areas centrally located and between the buildings. 

Jacka, is 5km north of Gungahlin town centre, is named after Captain Albert Jacka, the first Australian awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War. He was decorated for his bravery during the Gallipoli Campaign.

▲ A renders of the project designed by AMC Architecture.

The SLA plans for the neighbourhood include a town centre around which development was being encouraged. It is also promoting it as Canberra’s “newest all-electric community”. 

Gungahlin itself has been attracting considerable development in recent years, with a new community hub and 1000 homes on Block 8000 in the suburb proposed last week, while Core Developments is plotting 126 apartments in a dual-block, six-storey project with plans filed last month.

ACT has ambitious housing targets focused around housing choice—30,000 additional homes by 2030, with a particular focus on build-to-rent and more social, affordable, retirement and student accommodation.