Darwin
Images courtesy of Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd.
Finding the X-Factor A >
ustralia’s northernmost capital city has faced some tough challenges in its history, from its sheer
isolation, enemy bombing in WWII, to the recent devastating cyclones, but each time it has bounced back. So it was going to take more than
a global financial crisis to thwart Darwin’s plans to develop one of the biggest airport commercial real estate projects in the nation. Named the AXIS 12o
130o ⁰Business
Park, after Darwin’s co-ordinates, 12 degrees south and 130 degrees east, and to convey its international ambitions, this 60-hectare precinct is being developed as Darwin’s first integrated business and leisure ‘urban habitat’. Comprising offices, retail, showrooms, bulky goods suppliers and entertainment and leisure facilities, the A$2 billion AXIS development will occupy an area roughly half the size of Darwin’s Central Business District (CBD), when fully developed.
GLOBAL AIRPORT CITIES So why build it here? According to Ian
Kew, CEO of Darwin International Airport (DIA), while aeronautical activities will always remain the priority for the gateway, there are vast tracts of land around the gateway that will never be required for aeronautical purposes.
Darwin remains a developing economy with significant economic and population growth projections – and people need to work, and shop. “We think the long-term value of such a large parcel of land so close to the CBD is immense,” he said. Other airports in Australian capitals – notably Brisbane and Melbourne – have large land banks as well, but none so centrally located. “This is what makes Darwin’s AXIS unique,” Kew says. Due to the compact nature of the Northern Territory capital, the precinct is remarkably convenient for the end user. DIA is located just 8km from the city centre, and reachable within a 10-minute drive of 80% of the population – just the place, thought
Darwin International Airport is looking to create a unique business, shopping and leisure experience that has the power to attract, writes Peta Tomlinson.
Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd (NTA) for an integrated business park. The idea was first mooted as early as
1999, soon after privatisation by the Federal Government, as part of a new airport master plan. That plan, since approved, involved a parcel of what was then undeveloped land identified as a “blue sky opportunity” for non-aviation mixed-use development. Kew’s vision was to create an “inspiring
urban habitat” (defined as a balance of the natural and built environments that melds people and space). The tenants would be handpicked, representing a mix strategically chosen to meet Darwin’s diverse commercial needs.
Hardware giant Bunnings Warehouse was the first to sign up, opening its doors in 2006, and from all accounts there has been plenty of interest. Darwin and its airport might be tiny by global standards, but it has a booming economy, a rapidly growing population, an established
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