As we drag ourselves into the new year, it seems that Geocon is not willing to rest on the successes of 2016. This morning, Canberra's largest developer announced a revamp of the old NRMA building in Braddon to be known as 'Midnight'.

 

 

Sandwiched between Northbourne Avenue and Mort & Eloura streets, the 6200m² site will be revitalised by Fender Katsalidis Architects (FKA) - a company well-known to Canberrans for their work creating the NewActon precinct and Geocon's recent announcement, Republic. The design will be a mixed-use development which acknowledges its proximity to the Eloura Street light rail stop by creating a link through which visitors will transit to their destination.

 

Geocon's Nick Georgalis

 

The aim, said David Sutherland, FKA Director of Planning and Design, was to create not one, but three buildings. From Northbourne Avenue, the facade recognises the grandeur and scale of the avenue as an entry to the capital, while the eastern (or 'Braddon') side presents a much more eclectic exterior that reflects the fast-paced and eclectic style of the inner-city suburb. The interior courtyard will be home to the third part of the development and host the next of the company's expanding chain of Abode Hotels.

 

 

The $185 million GEOCON project will employ 1500 workers during the two-year construction phase and create three basement levels of car-parking including 200 new public car spaces. When completed by mid-2019 the development will include a 160-room Abode Hotel, 250 private residential apartments, retail and commercial space, a public courtyard, and intriguing landscaping, lapped with still and falling water conceived through the design of Oculus Design. 

[Geocon]