Mt Majura Estate in Watson will include standalone houses and townhouses. Photo: Colliers International The site of a Watson motel and caravan park that has housed students from across Australia as part of the ubiquitous Canberra school trip is being replaced with a new housing estate.
The Canberra Carotel is moving to an adjoining block of land to make way for Mt Majura Estate, a new development consisting of terrace townhouses and more than 100 single residential blocks.
Colliers International will auction the three two-storey townhouse sites and 129 single blocks at an event in March.
The accommodation site on Antill Street, near the Federal Highway, has been owned and operated by the same family, the Cusacks, since 1962.
Colliers International residential land marketing general manager Shane Radnell said the Carotel was being moved to a block of land next door, which the family purchased from the Land Development Agency about two years ago.
Mt Majura Estate is being developed by C7 Developments, which is owned by the Cusack family.
Mr Radnell said the estate was a rare opportunity to build a new house in an established suburb.
The new section of Watson is mostly characterised by medium-density developments, rather than standalone houses.
“It’s probably been almost 10 years since there has been an opportunity to buy a block in Watson and build a residential home on it,” he said.
“This represents an opportunity to buy your own block, choose your own builder and build your own family home in an established suburb.”
Standalone blocks vary from a reserve price of $322,000 for 315 square metres to $391,000 for 489 square metres.
Mr Radnell expected the estate to appeal to a range of prospective buyers, including families looking to live more centrally, downsizers hoping to stay in the inner north and some first homebuyers.
“It is being designed to be more of a premium boutique estate,” he said.
“We certainly expect to see some downsizers, particularly from the local area…who are at a stage where they’re in a larger, older home and the time is right to half their land size and maybe build a one or two-storey home that better suits their needs.”
Mr Radnell said the estate would include some design guidelines, covering the general look and feel of the area and sustainability.
A number of developments are slated for Watson, including three multi-unit sites opposite the Prime Media Group building near Justice Robert Hope Park and Antill Street, and a proposed “village” encompassing townhouses, units, commercial units and a childcare centre on a 4.4-hecatre site currently occupied by Southern Cross Ten Austereo.
The Mt Majura Estate public auction will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 10am at the Ainslie Football Club.