A group of Canberra apartment owners have welcomed an extension of the community consultation period for Geocon's proposed 70 Allara Street project.
Following concerns from owners of the nearby Forum apartments, the developer, along with Purdon Planning, has added a third consultation session on February 3.
It will give the community an extra two weeks to have their say on the proposed residential development, which would include 357 apartments across three buildings in the CBD.
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Richard Nash, managing director at Purdon Planning, said the third session comes after community interest in the project.
"This session will enable further discussion on the proposed design as it evolves," he said.
"The extension will equate to an eight-week consultation period in which the comments received will inform the works approval submission to the National Capital Authority."
Consultant Tania Parkes has been engaged by the Forum Owners Corporation to respond to the proposal.
Last week, she told The Canberra Times owners of the 117-apartment complex had received insufficient material in order to provide feedback on possible factors such as traffic, overshadowing, views or privacy.
Ms Parkes welcomed the extra consultation session and new shadow diagrams provided by Purdon Planning.
"The added session is most welcome and at this next session [on January 20] we can provide informed comment about the impact of shadowing, because we've been provided that information," she said.
Following the first consultation, Purdon Planning stated in its notes: "A traffic report will be provided by a qualified traffic consultant as part of the works approval package. It addresses issues such as traffic impacts on surrounding road networks, pedestrian traffic, parking overflow impacts, and road safety impacts."
Ms Parkes said it would be best practice for the developer to present the traffic report to residents prior to the works approval submission, in order to make informed comments about the development.
"Traffic, in particular, is the critical issue because there's a single entry and exit point for the proposed development of Allara Street which is directly in front of the Forum's entry and exit point," she said.
Once complete, the proposed development would include three buildings ranging from six to eight storeys high. Plans also include a ground floor cafe, communal rooftop gardens and shared amenities for residents.
Geocon purchased the 7641-square-metre site, formerly a defence training depot owned by the federal government, in 2020 for $24 million.
Members of the community can register to attend the upcoming virtual consultation sessions scheduled for January 20 and February 3.
