The ACT government's official property management arm has offered Curtin's Teddybears Childcare Centre a two-year lease, but its owner says it only adds to uncertainty about the centre's future.
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Mark Gillett was told by ACT Property Group in October 2018 that a five-year lease extension was on offer, only to wait months without a written confirmation.
On Monday, a lease until 2021 was confirmed; but a letter, sighted by the Sunday Canberra Times, said decisions were yet to be made about the former North Curtin Primary School site's subsequent "disposal".
Previous correspondence flagged its demolition for 2021, Mr Gillett said, while it was also proposed in the late 1990s.
"I am advised the Emergency Services Agency [the building's other tenant] has commenced transitioning from the site," the property group's senior director, Phil Revill, said in the letter.
"Once their move is completed, further progress towards the future use of the site will progress."
Until the offer, the childcare centre had been without a lease agreement for months, raising Mr Gillett's suspicions they would soon be asked to vacate. Prior to that, stints without a lease lasted for several years.
He expected no new enrollments at the centre once parents knew about the two-year lease and would consider whether he would take up the offer over the next six months.
"If [the property group] were decent people they would compensate the business," Mr Gillett said.
"Why should I sign anything? I think I'll sit on my backside for as long as long as they've sat on their backsides."
Mr Gillett said he was frustrated by the group's "dishonesty", given they had told him "black and white" the centre would be offered a five-year lease. A letter from Chief Minister Andrew Barr, addressed to Mr Gillett in 2015, said he would be able to bid at auction for a portion of the vacated site and build a new centre if he was successful.
It was unclear, though, when the auction would be held. A spokeswoman for the ACT government refused to provide a timeframe.
"I know that childcare services are important for, and valued by, the Curtin community ... [which] is why a portion of the former school will be sold at auction for a new childcare centre," Mr Barr said in the letter.
Curtin Teddybears' director Shaista Farooq was under the impression the government did not know when the existing building would be knocked down.
"Once they know when the building is being knocked down, they will let us know," she said.
The spokeswoman said the ACT government was considering options for the future use of the site.
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
