How new developments shaped Canberra's southside

As the saying goes, “home is where the heart is”, and Canberra’s southside has my heart. Born in The Canberra Hospital and raised all of three minutes up the road for the first 23 years of my life, I’ll advocate for the south until I’m blue in the face. 

The communities, the schools, the streetscapes, the hospitality scene; the south has it all, with so much more to come. 

“There’s so much opportunity happening in Woden, in particular,” says Geocon’s head of sales Adam Morgan. 

“Take the new CIT campus, the extension of the Canberra Hospital and the redevelopment of the Woden Town Centre for example. It’s a great location for investors and for locals,” says Morgan. 

Geocon is building WOVA in Woden, which will bring a giant mixed-use precinct of 797 residential apartments across four residential towers. 

“It’s Woden revamped, and just like we’ve seen at the Republic precinct in Belconnen, it’s going to deliver so much convenience to the south,” says Morgan. 

Morgan adds that the injection of funds towards stage two of the light rail in Woden will only fuel the area’s growth.

“Woden was really lacking in high-rise residential offerings, but now you’re seeing so much development in the area,” he says.

Included in this is DOMA Group’s development of 185 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in The Melrose, alongside their completed A & A building, and Keggins Group’s W2 bringing another 213 one, two and three-bedroom apartments to the area. 

“We’re happy to see other developers investing in bringing more people, more populations and more livelihood into the district. It’s such a great location for convenience for travel, for amenity; it’s a lovely place to live,” says Morgan. 

Further south, Geocon has their joint venture Aspen Village underway, with stage one set to be completed in the coming weeks and stage two by the end of the year.

“What we’re finding is that Tuggeranong is already so we’ll established, we’re merely bringing more of this apartment-style residential offering to people who want to stay in the area,” Morgan says.

“Tuggeranong has such a great community and we’re finding that those who move into our Aspen Village development either know each other or are already getting to know each other before they move in.”

Out west and you’ll find things are looking pretty different these days with the development of the Molonglo Valley. 

“Molonglo Valley has come a long way since its inception,” says agent James Herbert of LJ Hooker Project Marketing.

“The suburbs of Wright and Coombs were once just a scattering of new houses surrounded by vacant lots. We now enjoy one of the best local shops that Canberra offers at Denman Prospect with schools, medical centres, great parks and recreation facilities and public transport nearby, too.”

Herbert is looking after the sale of Boulevard in Denman Prospect – a precinct that will bring a total of 410 apartments and 42 penthouses to the region – as well as a modern co-working space with its own cafe, resort-style pools, and a bookable private dining room that looks out over Molonglo Valley to the City.

“The appeal of the Molonglo Valley is the multifaceted, but certainly many of the residents would report that they enjoy living in such close proximity to the outdoor recreation and open spaces that the Molonglo Region provides while still being close to not only the City but the Town Centre’s such of Belconnen and Woden,” says Herbert. 

But there’s plenty more to come for the region. 

“In addition to the major commercial centre – which will provide shops, recreation, commercial and community facilities – there are also major infrastructure works, like the connection to the Tuggeranong Parkway and Molonglo River Bridge Crossing as well as more parks,” says Herbert. 

“The ACT government has also recently detailed some of the proposed elements of the Molonglo Group Centre, and it’s set to deliver some exciting mixed-use development, which will transform the region into its own mini city in the future.”

“The future is exciting for the Molonglo Valley,” he concludes.

Check out some developments in south Canberra:

WOVA

View property

Designed by JUDD.Studio and tying into a mid-century theme, this development features a combination of breeze blocks, ribbed concrete and gold balustrades and window frames.

Price guide: $370,900-$1,478,900

Agent: Geocon, Adam Morgan 0487 888 666

Boulevard

Price by negotiation

Boulevard, Denman Prospect ACT 2611

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View property

This is an urban village of four residential towers inclusive of a residents’ cinema, lap pool, fitness studio and gym, working spaces and rooftop terrace.

Price guide: $419,900-$999,000 +

Agent: LJ Hooker Project Marketing, James Herbert 0400 853 501