Eight-storey CDU city campus will feature boab tree
madura.mccormack@news.com.au
CHARLES DARWIN University’s controversial CBD campus will be eight storeys tall, have two underground carparks and feature a historic boab tree as its central meeting place, according to development documents.
It will also feature a library and an art gallery.
The development application for the CDU campus on Cavenagh St comes a month after the university purchased the site from Darwin City Council for $14.6 million.
According to building plans, the development includes construction of the eight-storey campus, which includes the NT Government Library.
Two basement underground carparks, built by excavating the land to a depth of 7.5m, would provide 230 vehicle spaces.
“Generous footpaths with extensive landscaping” will feature around the perimeter of the site.
Planning documents reveal the historic boab tree and milkwood tree on Cavenagh St will be protected, with the boab becoming a central feature of the development’s expansive, publicly accessible open space.
In order to protect both trees throughout construction, CDU will set up a “Tree Protection Zone” with a diameter of 15m for the boab and 10m for the milkwood.
Traffic will also be affected during construction, with CDU indicating a portion of Woods St will be closed between Garramilla Boulevard and the site boundary for safety purposes during the excavation period.
“Closure of this section of road is proposed outside of peak times to ensure that the efficiency of the surrounding road network is not compromised during peak traffic periods,” the report states.
Submissions on the proposal can be made until midnight on June 12. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is expected to address the final steps around CDU’s $150 million loan at its June board meeting.