A proposal for 61 townhouses in Weston has received 150 registrations of interest before the development application has been approved, according to the selling agent.
The Grove development has been proposed by Canberra-based property developer Matt James.
Selling agent Richard Moses from Ray White said about 95 per cent of the inquiries so far were from people looking to downsize.
"A site like that is ingrained in the heart of Weston," Mr Moses said.
"It does get some eyeballs from the local community that's there, and a lot of people probably expected something to pop up there eventually and have been waiting for something that suits."
House values in Weston Creek have been soaring as young families look to move out of the inner city's apartment blocks and into a house in an established suburb. Last year, five of the top 10 property value growth suburbs were in Weston Creek.
Mr Moses said the inquiries had come mostly through the signboard on the site or through word of mouth, and that many of the downsizers said they were interested in the ground floor master bedrooms.
"A lot of what they have looked at over the years, it hasn't really given the opportunity to downsize too comfortably. It would be more so a stepping stone if they purchased somewhere else where they'd still need to consider something further down the line," Mr Moses said.
"I think the majority of the inquiry as well would be thinking longer term to stay within the precinct."
The architect of the townhouse project, Ajanthan Bala from DNA Architects, said there was a high demand for developments catering to downsizers because ageing in place was "not something that's been thought through all that well in Canberra".
"It's either a house or it's an apartment, and there's been this lost typology where people can still stay in the same suburb and age in place with a much smaller yard or no yard at all, but still make it feel like a home," he said.
"That's sort of the demographic we're targeting with Weston. You've got a lot of people in and around the Woden and Weston area that don't have those options of being able to age in place."
DNA Architects have been designing "missing middle"-type developments for at least a decade, Mr Bala said, and he welcomed recent government changes which would make it easier for developers.
The Weston development includes a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes, many of which have master bedrooms on the ground floor for older residents, or which could be used for intergenerational living.
"If the kids did want to move out, then there is the spot. If the parents want to move in, there is a spot within the dwelling or within the development."
The land is zoned for higher density, but Mr Bala said it was important to take into account the existing residences surrounding it, which are primarily single residences, and to be "sympathetic" to the existing streetscape.
The development is designed around a central, shared courtyard, and each townhouse would also have access to a private courtyard, court, terrace or balcony.
"When you drive into a development, you don't just want to see built form," Mr Bala said.
"The built form is really meant to be the backdrop to the landscape and the view and context."
Mr Bala said the plans took advantage of the natural slope of the site to give most of the townhouses a north-facing aspect.
As a result, each townhouse is expected to get at least 2.5 hours of daylight between 9am and 3pm on the shortest day of the year.
