Green Light for $420m Midtown Precinct Near Canberra CBD

Canberra’s Inner North is about to change shape, after the ACT’s independent planning authority granted final approval yesterday for the $420 million Midtown Precinct development on Northbourne Avenue, just one kilometre from Civic.

Pressure on Housing, Demand for Growth

The decision comes amid growing pressure on Canberra’s housing supply and skyrocketing demand in city-fringe suburbs. With public service headcounts swelling and low vacancy levels squeezing the market, developers, urban planners and buyers alike have closely watched the fate of major infill projects. The Midtown Precinct, set on the long-dormant former CIT Reid campus site, aims to deliver more than 600 new apartments, mixed-use offices and retail tenancies, helping alleviate housing shortages in the CBD-adjacent corridor from Braddon through to Turner.

The 3.5-hectare site borders Light Street in Turner and Allara Street in the east, placing it within walking distance of Haig Park, the Canberra Centre, and ANU’s rapidly expanding city campus. Doma Group, a Canberra-based developer behind the high-rise Metropol and the NewActon precinct, will lead construction in partnership with urban planners from RobertsDay. The approved plan features a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units, nearly 8,000 square metres of green and community space, and more than 2,000 square metres allocated for ground-floor hospitality and retail — including a mooted public food hall facing Northbourne Avenue. The blueprint also calls for a multi-storey ‘vertical school’ earmarked for early learning, part of the ACT Government’s Growing and Renewing Public Housing program.

Demand Drives Fast-Tracking, Prices Remain High

The ACT’s median house price reached $835,000 at last quarter’s end, according to CoreLogic data, with Braddon and Turner units still fetching $545,000–$615,000 on average. Low supply has kept vacancy rates at under 1.6%—among Australia’s tightest. Last month saw 65% of homes taken to auction across the Territory clear on the day, but just 54% in the City and Inner North, reflecting months of cautious public servant and investor demand. In granting approval, the ACT Planning and Land Authority cited both “urgent need for greater density in established corridors” and “the potential to catalyse new amenity and pedestrian activity linking Civic to Haig Park.”

Construction at Midtown is slated to commence in October, with staged completion beginning late 2028. The precinct is predicted to bring around 1,200 new residents and generate up to 250 ongoing jobs once the mixed-use facilities are finished. For potential buyers, developer pre-sales are expected to open as early as December, with marketing materials promising homes “20 per cent below current CBD medians.”

What’s Next for Inner North Buyers?

With the green light now official, local agents expect an uptick in interest across nearby precincts like Founders Lane and Lonsdale Street, especially among first-home buyers and public sector workers eyeing off-city living but unable to stretch to detached house budgets. Prospective Midtown buyers should monitor the Doma Group’s website and sales agencies including Independent and Belle Property, who will handle initial EOI registrations. The ACT Government says the mixed retail, commercial and education facilities are designed to complement rather than compete with existing Haig Park and Braddon precincts, prioritising walkability and affordable offerings. Buyers and nearby residents can review precinct plans at the City Renewal Authority as the first tender packages roll out in spring.