Kingsborough brings village living to the city
Posted on
Kingsborough in the inner south suburb of Kingston has built a community around a central mixed-use village, just minutes from the Foreshore and the wetlands.
One of the most charming things about Canberra’s culture is its local shops. However, for a time, urban sprawl and the rise of malls saw the demise of many once-thriving suburban centres.
But in recent years there’s been a focus on placemaking, an acknowledgement of the importance of people feeling a connection to the place they’re living in. As a result, some modern developments have moved away from the ‘anonymous apartment block’ model, towards one with community at its heart.
Kingsborough in the inner south suburb of Kingston has taken this concept further than most, building the development around a central mixed-use village, just minutes from the Foreshore and the wetlands.
Now completed and available for public viewing for the first time ever, and comprising various residences—including apartments, terrace homes and warehouses—Kingsborough has been designed by five separate architecture firms. Developer John Gasson says this has achieved a village with a distinct sense of belonging but without homogeneity.
“We deliberately created a master plan that had some variety in it. It’s been a challenge because, from a developer’s perspective, the easy thing is to just basically repeat something over and over and over again. But it’s great for the design.”
And that design really is quite unique—Kingsborough’s Shophouse apartments are unlike anything Canberra has seen before. Offering both single level and top floor two storey options starting from $510,000, the Shophouse also includes Ground Floor one-bedroom plus study apartments that include shop space (which could be used for retail or office space).
For those who like some separation between work and life, there are also purely residential apartments on offer on the upper levels. And this really is a place designed for living, with Shophouse residents enjoying exclusive access to two spacious rooftop terraces: a sunset bar, fully decked out with built-in seating, built-in fridge and barbeque; and a rooftop cinema with outdoor seating and a projector screen.
“The outdoor area looks out to the west, across to Parliament House,” says John.
“You get views of the lake so everybody in the whole of that building can go up and use the amenity and get the best views from the building. So the best views aren’t taken by an individual apartment, they’re shared by the community.”
“The outdoor cinema has a projector that you can Bluetooth into, so you can go up there with your own wireless headphones— you can get up there and watch the football or Netflix and not disturb anybody with any noise!”
John also enthuses about the businesses moving into the Village—a yoga studio, interior designers, coffee roasters, a wholefoods café and more.
“There’s a couple who have their own market garden and they are going to set up a little café and sell lunch boxes in the morning. So residents can drop in, pick up their packed lunch, and take it to work or give their kids a healthy lunch box.”
Talking to John, it’s clear that he’s serious about making Kingsborough a real community. From a members-only two-lane 25-metre lap pool (which, thanks to some ingenious design can be an outdoor pool in summer and an indoor pool in winter), to a children’s outdoor play area and even a chicken run. Yes, you heard right.
“We worked out we’ve got a big pit underneath the walkway entry off Dawes Street and so we are creating a chook run there—people can take their organic waste down and drop it down a chute to feed to chooks. There’ll be a separate entry to collect the eggs,” says John.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kingsborough’s commitment to living green, which includes solar panels on all buildings, rainwater for gardens, a glass crusher and more.
And while some may consider Kingsborough’s location out of their financial reach, they may be surprised.
“We have apartments starting at $290,000 which means we have a significant amount of first-time buyers coming into the inner south. I am really proud of being able to provide an affordable product,” says John.
“And we step all the way through. We’ve got fantastic customisable warehouses, terraces with young families, and even luxury penthouse units.”
For John, it all comes back to the vision of Kingsborough being a village in every sense of the word. A place where people can live and grow together, and truly be part of a community.
“My hope is that in five years’ time, people can be moving through the village into different places as their lives change, and they stay because they are part of the community.”
Find out more about the Kingsborough Village development at kingsborough.com.au.
This is a sponsored post. Read our Sponsored Post Policy for more information.
Leave a Reply