Imagine ascending one of Canberra's most famous peaks in a cable car, hurtling down its side to the waiting shores of Lake Burley Griffin via a giant water slide or dining again in a revolving restaurant overlooking the city.
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Chief Minister Andrew Barr has declared the ACT government and Telstra are open to ideas to revitalise the telco's iconic tower on Black Mountain.
Mr Barr said he had raised future plans for the beloved but underutilised site with Telstra chief executive Andy Penn last month and "Telstra are very open" to both community and commercial bids to use its spaces.
The 195-metre tower first opened in 1980 following almost a decade of controversy over its build. But while it has since become an intrinsic part of the Canberra skyline, well populated by tourists and the darling of photographers, many of its spaces sit empty.
In 2013, its famous revolving restaurant closed after a bitter legal dispute over safety and maintenance concerns. Six years on, the floor remains unused. At the last territory election, the Sex Party even called for the tower to be torn down entirely or at least re-purposed, labelling it a "useless" eyesore.
Mr Barr said the tower still enjoyed significant visitation but stressed there was considerable scope for "innovation".
The ACT government was now considering how it could leverage its own activities in partnership with Telstra Tower and act as a conduit between local entrepreneurs or community groups and the company, he said.
"It would be great to see this Canberra icon be given a new lease on life and Telstra are very open to that and want to work with us," Mr Barr told an ACT committee hearing on Monday.
"In particular I think this is an opportunity for small to medium sized businesses, those who might wish to [for example] revitalise the revolving restaurant. It's not just the viewing platforms available."
Telstra declined to comment, and Raine and Horne realtors, which manages the property, were not available before deadline.
On Monday, Mr Barr took to social media to call for ideas from the community.
Popular suggestions so far range from another revolving restaurant and a live music venue or art gallery to a zip line, improved walking trails and even a water slide for the more daring leading down to the lake. The site could play host to bungee jumping, a stair climb race, Motorsports or the high stakes sport of paper plane throwing.
"In a short space of time a lot of Canberrans have offered some really creative suggestions on the activities they'd like to see up at Telstra Tower," Mr Barr told The Canberra Times.
"[We'll] look forward to sharing these ideas with Telstra."
Of course, some of the grand plans proposed for the tower haven't historically received such a warm welcome.
In 1983, a $2 million scheme to run cable cars up Black Mountain was knocked back by the federal government of the day on environmental grounds.
Right now, there's already a gondola-style chair-lift proposed for Mount Stromlo in its national park master plan, but a spokeswoman for Mr Barr said a feasibility study had not yet been completed.
Sherryn Groch
Sherryn is a journalist at The Canberra Times, with a special interest in education and social affairs.
Sherryn is a journalist at The Canberra Times, with a special interest in education and social affairs.
