More than 1300 townhouses and apartments are planned for the Curtin horse paddocks, the ACT government has revealed.
The government is set to start long-awaited planning works for north Curtin with consultation on the future of the site set to start this week.
Work is also set to begin on a major planning framework for the city to Woden corridor, which will include future development plans for housing on Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen Drive.
Planning Minister Chris Steel said housing on the north Curtin site, directly adjacent to Yarra Glen Drive, was "badly needed" but before plans could be developed the government wanted feedback from the community.
"Before plans are developed for the site we wanted to hear from the community about what is important in terms of urban design, landscape design, built form, access and design quality on the site," he said.
"With its location on a major transport corridor, this is a significant opportunity to develop a high quality residential neighbourhood that is sustainable and vibrant with quality public streets and spaces."
The consultation for the future of north Curtin will form part of the government's proposed "draft southern gateway planning and design framework" to help guide development on the government's proposed second stage of light rail.
A similar framework was developed by the government from the city to Gungahlin as part of the first stage of light rail, which paved the way for a potential 37,000 new dwellings between Federal Highway and the city.
"We've already seen the land-use benefits along the Northbourne corridor and we want to work with the community to develop design guidance for the southern corridor so that we can maximise the benefits to the community," Mr Steel said.
A study, conducted in 2021, found the number of dwellings in the proposed light rail corridor could more than double to about 30,000. District strategies for the inner south and Woden outline plans for dwellings along Adelaide Avenue in Deakin and north Curtin.
Mr Steel said consultation for the framework would focus on what the community wanted in terms of housing and public spaces. He also took a thinly veiled swipe at the Canberra Liberals transport policy, which includes a bus way between Woden and the city. The opposition released the policy while Mr Steel was on parental leave.
"In the future we will be engaging with the community on the principles of growth and development of more housing, public spaces and infrastructure along the light rail 2B corridor including Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen Drive," he said.
"Unlike buses we know that light rail can unlock significant land-use benefits with opportunities for better connections to public transport, new housing, commercial activity as well as improvements to landscape, streets and public spaces."
Horses are still kept in the Curtin horse paddocks with plans to remove the agistment to occur once the planning works get underway.
Development for the Curtin horse paddocks was flagged after the territory completed a controversial land swap with the National Capital Authority in 2020.
Part of the paddocks were given to the authority for a diplomatic estate in exchange for the territory government taking control of the west basin waterfront on Lake Burley Griffin.
The deal was made after the authority had been trying for years to secure extra land for embassies. The authority has previously had to turn away countries wanting a diplomatic presence in the capital.
The feedback from the consultation for north Curtin will help develop the draft planning conditions for the north Curtin residential area, which will be used to assess future development applications for the site.
This feedback will be lodged with the National Capital Authority in the coming months. An assessment of environmental impacts has been lodged with the Commonwealth's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Consultation on future planning for north Curtin will close on June 11 2024.
