The evocative surrounds of the Yarralumla brickworks have been the inspiring home of bespoke, artisan businesses for more than 20 years in some cases.
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Recycled timber supplier and furniture maker Thor's Hammer, which has been at the brickworks for 23 years, and public art maker Artillion, there for five years, may to vacate the site by October to make way for a new housing development. It has asked for an extension of time on the site but not heard back from the government.
Their original proposal was for them to be part of an artisan hub as part of the brickworks redevelopment as the ACT Government sells off the site for 380 residences that will be a mix of stand-alone houses, terraces, and apartments
Thor's Hammer owner Thor Diesendorf said the Brickworks Lifestyle Consortium, which had been competing for the housing tender, was supportive of them staying.
But the Doma Group, which was last month named as the preferred tenderer for the housing project, did not include the businesses in its proposal.
Doma Group managing director Jure Domazet said on Friday the brickworks site was offered with "vacant possession". The company was not even aware Artillion was on the site as it was not allowed to see any details of existing leases.
Mr Domazet said he still planned to have an arts and craft element to the new development, details of which would be released in coming weeks.
He did not believe a business the size of Thor's Hammer, which included a sawmill, would work among homes.
"He takes up a hell of a lot of the site and it's just not compatible with what we had," Mr Domazet said.
"Our view has always been we've got provision for arts and craft - and retail - of a much smaller scale.
"The whole idea with us was we put our tender in, we see if we are successful, we sign up with the government if we are successful and then we go and pursue users for our arts and crafts area.
"I mean they're perfect for the site now, I'm not so sure they are with people living around it. But we'll have a chat to everyone there once we're signed up."
Mr Diesendorf said it was sad to leave the brickworks and he was concerned for the heritage character of the site but he was also excited to start again.
But it would be a challenge.
"I want to get Thor's Hammer relocated so we can continue to recycle timber and make beautiful furniture. I want to save the jobs of my 20-plus staff. I want to keep training apprentices. I want to keep contributing to the ACT's economy," he said,
Any potential site needs to be huge. Thor's Hammer works with and stores more than 600 tonnes of recycled timber and machinery. It needs 3000 to 5000 square metres of land and 2000 to 3000 square metres of workshops. And the site needed to have reasonable rent.
"If our rent goes through the roof we won't be able to sustain the business."
Sculptor Geoff Farquhar-Still, from Artillion, which makes public art from metal and other materials, said he was committed to also finding a new space with Thor's Hammer and other similar artisans. He was worried about the future character of the brickworks.
"It is a site of such high value to the ACT. It's absolutely unique," he said.
Mr Domazet said he was hamstrung about how much he could say as the company was still only the preferred tenderer until legal documents were signed. More would be revealed soon about the heritage character of the site.
"Obviously, the kilns are all heritage listed," he said. "All I can say is we've gone beyond the minimum that was required to be kept under the existing conservation management plan."
