General

A:The Sales and Information Centre and builders display homes are open Saturday to Wednesday from 11am to 5pm.

A:It is not normal practice to ballot at Crace, however on occasions it may be necessary due to the overwhelming demand Crace has experienced in recent times.

A:Yes, pets are welcome in the urban precinct as well as in suburban homes. In accordance with ACT Government requirements, cats must be contained on the owners properties at all times. We support the use of cat runs to prevent cats roaming and destroying native fauna. For further information visit http://www.environment.act.gov.au/environment/cat_containment

A:The new regulations were announced on 6 September 2011 by the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development. Crace and other Gungahlin residents must adhere to the regulations or be in breach of the law.

A:To protect native birds, insects and animals that are easy prey to cats. By nature, cats are hunters. It’s part of their make-up to pursue and kill other small creatures. A research project from the University of Canberra in 1995 estimated that at the time, Canberra’s domestic cats were conservatively killing more than 60,000 native birds and 30,000 native lizards every year.

A:No. Half of the animals from the University of Canberra study were found to be killed during the day, not at night. To protect our threatened species, cats must be contained at all times.

A: The new regulations were only announced by the ACT Government on 6 September last year. By law, all residents of suburbs where the regulations apply must contain their cats to protect threatened and other species that live in the areas.

But containing your cat doesn’t need to be an added expense. A recent survey of ACT residents found that of those cat owners that contain their cat, 92% simply keep their cat indoors while only 7% have purpose built cat runs.

A:Yes. The requirement to contain your cat is now law.

Apart from benefitting threatened and other species, there are many other reasons why cat containment is a good thing. For example, uncontained cats are four times more likely to suffer significant injures than those that are contained at all times. Over a third of the cats that are allowed to roam come home injured at least once each year, and on two-thirds of these occasions, vet care is needed as a result of these injuries.

A:The new regulations apply across most new suburbs, and research shows the move is strongly supported by ACT residents. An independent survey commissioned by the ACT Government in May this year found that 66% of respondents supported cat containment in new suburbs, while 91% of ACT residents believed there were benefits to the community if cats are contained.

The experience in suburbs like Bonner and Forde also supports the move to wider cat containment. In these suburbs, 89% of residents think that containment is working well, and 85% support cat containment for all new ACT suburbs.

A: Visit www.environment.act.gov.aufor more details on the regulations and how simple it is to comply. Maps on cat containment areas are also available at all ACT Government shopfronts, ACT public libraries and the offices of Domestic Animal Services.

A:The cables are run from the main equipment in the TransACT Gateway site that is to be built in the nearby suburb of Forde. TransACT services are not delivered from the Crace exchange (this is Telstra), nor do TransACT use rim technology as they cannot deliver the high speed services or IPTV and Voice and Free to Air RF overlay using RIM.

TransACTs FTTH solution is a state-of-the-art passive optical network solution, as such the fibres from the gateway are split at Local Convergence Points (LCP) throughout the Crace Estate. At this point each home is connected via a fibre. To maximise the available data bandwidth to each home TransACT design a 1 to 32 split at the LCP, which means one fibre from the TransACT gateway equipment is split into 32 individual drops at the LCP. The only active equipment in the network is at the TransACT gateway and the home, in between there is no powered equipment.

A:It is anticipated that the Urban Centre will begin to develop in the next twelve months. This is somewhat dependent on the population of Crace, as prospective retailers and commercial outlets will require a viable population base for their businesses to be sustainable.

A:Crace Central. It will be located in the heart of the urban precinct. For more information visit our website http://www.crace.com.au/about/retail-centre.php.

A:It is planned to open in 2013.

A:The retailers at Crace Central are yet to be confirmed however it is anticipated that there will be a large local supermarket, liquor store, cafe/restaurant, a takeaway and 2-3 other specialty stores. The supermarket will be 1500m2 in size and by way of comparison is about 50% larger than the Ainslie IGA. An expression of interest process is currently underway to determine who the supermarket operator will be. For leasing opportunities you can contact Mark Thompson at LJ Hooker Commercial Canberra on 0438 624 042.

A:At this stage no schools are planned for the suburb of Crace. Crace sits within the Palmerston suburb school catchment area with the local primary school located on Kosciuszko Avenue. The Crace masterplan has pedestrian networks and cycle ways that will be developed to allow for safe and easy access to this school.

A:The Government has committed to review the wider road network in Gungahlin following the completion of all stages of Gungahlin Drive Extension to determine the need and timing for any upgrade of Gundaroo Drive and extension of Nudurr Drive as well as improvements to the Gundaroo Drive and Barton Highway intersection. Improvements will be subject to future capital works funding. For more information contact Canberra Connect on 13 22 81.

A:We have employed an independent consultant to conduct acoustic assessment studies at Crace to determine whether noise will be a problem. For most blocks, the noise falls well within acceptable limits. We will be building special mounds (called berms) in a number of locations to help reduce road noise. On a small number of suburban blocks, additional measures might need to be taken to control noise to the upper levels of the house (for example, double glazing). Your Crace Sales Consultant will be able to provide you with more information about where the berms will be constructed and which blocks could be affected.

A:CHC Affordable Housing (CHC), a private not-for-profit company and one of the Crace Joint Venture Partners, has committed to purchasing up to 90 dwellings within the Urban Precinct over the life of the development. These homes will be held by CHC as part of its investment portfolio to meet the evolving needs of their clients. CHC’s client base is diverse, ranging from public servants, defence personnel, nurses, emergency workers and teachers, whose annual household income, depending on family configuration, must be between $28,289 and $82,855. For more information about CHC Affordable Housing visit www.communityhousingcanberra.com.au

A:There are three access roads into Crace; the main entry roundabout off Gundaroo Drive and two roads off Nudurr Drive, adjacent to Palmerston (one is a roundabout and the second a T intersection). There will be no access from the Barton Highway.

A:In the early stages, bus routes are planned for the suburb to ensure new residents have access to public transport. A childcare centre and a community park will also be established in the early stages. It is anticipated that the urban centre will begin to develop in the next 12 months(depending on population growth).

A:Yes and this information should be provided at the same time as a deposit is paid.

A:You can phone 1800 751 878 to speak with one of our Crace sales consultants.