O'Connor: URBN Development Group lodges 20-apartment DA

URBN Development Group, headed by Nathan Ross, has filed a development application covering a six-storey, 20-apartment building on two consolidated blocks at 7 Wattle Street and 3 Berrigan Crescent, O’Connor, Region Canberra reported on 2 November 2026. The proposal is lodged, not approved, and public comment is open until 20 November. For inner-north builders and agents, it tests demand for large-format apartments, a product few Canberra developers attempt.

Why it matters

The building would rise to the six-storey limit at the Berrigan Crescent frontage, stepping back to four storeys where it meets the low-rise detached houses next door. On the opposite side of Wattle Street, Art Group has its own five-building mixed-use precinct under way on the old Macarthur House site, Region reported.

There are no one-bedroom apartments in the mix: just one two-bedroom unit, 17 three-bedroom apartments and two four-bedroom apartments. The DA pitches the project at a gap in the inner-north market for large-format, owner-occupier homes, offering families and downsizers an alternative to the detached house and the knockdown-rebuild. Larger apartments are rare because one and two-bedroom units sell more easily, Region noted.

The site sits about 250 metres from the Macarthur Avenue light rail stop and close to the inner-north cycle network.

The numbers

The 20 apartments are weighted toward larger formats: one two-bedroom unit at 105 square metres, 17 three-bedroom apartments across five separate layouts ranging from 121 to 183 square metres, and two four-bedroom apartments at 232 and 234 square metres respectively.

Parking comes from 48 resident spaces in a two-level basement, reached by a single driveway off Berrigan Crescent. All apartments have north-facing living areas, and 11 of the 20 dwellings are corner or dual-aspect units. The roof holds two private terraces plus a communal terrace reached by lift. All mature street trees will be retained.

On sustainability, the application proposes an all-electric building with EV-ready basement parking, rainwater harvesting and rooftop solar. URBN is targeting Nature Based Cities Exemplary status alongside UDIA EnviroDevelopment certification for the O’Connor project.

What’s next

The application remains proposed, not approved. Public comment closes on 20 November 2026.

URBN has not given a construction start date. The unit mix, the stepped built form and the rooftop terraces described in the application are all subject to change through the assessment process that follows the close of public comment, before any of the 20 apartments could go to market. The site sits on the same light rail corridor as the Civic cafe strip shift we reported on 1 November.