The proposed new Woden CIT campus could be part of a 16-storey complex which includes an indoor sport centre and either commercial space or affordable housing, newly-signed contracts show.
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The potential scope of the project has been outlined in contracts signed by the ACT government for preliminary planning work on a new campus, which has an estimated cost of up to $250 million.
It comes as the government presses ahead with the demolition of the training institute's former Woden campus near Canberra Hospital, despite community opposition.
The government's infrastructure agency, Major Projects Canberra, last week contracted design firm Hayball to draw up a preliminary masterplan for a new campus, which has been earmarked for a 5000 square-metre block of land encompassing the site of the existing Woden bus station and former police station.
The proposed campus - accommodating up to 6500 students - would either be built alongside or on top of a revamped Woden transport interchange, which would cater to both bus and future light rail services.
Unveiling the proposal last November, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the CIT campus would occupy 20,000 square meters of space, likely as part of a wider mixed-use development.
Documents outlining the terms of the $167,000 contract with Hayball show the government wants to examine options to "maximise development" on the site.
That development would include buildings of between 12 and 16 storeys in height - the maximum permitted under local planning rules for the site - and incorporate either commercial space or affordable housing.
The complex could also include an indoor sports centre with basketball and squash courts - a proposal mooted by Mr Barr in November.
Ground level carparking spaces and a public piazza which leads to the entrance to the CIT are also set to be part of the campus' design, according to the contract documents.
The announcement of plans for a new CIT campus came five months after former minister Meegan Fitzharris revealed the government was looking to relocate Reid CIT to Woden's town centre.
The University of New South Wales is planning to redevelop the existing Reid site, along with a parcel of land on Constitution Avenue, to create its second Canberra campus.
The university presented its plans for the new campus to the ACT government in October 2018.
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The Canberra Times sought access to the proposal under freedom of information laws, but the application was rejected on the grounds they were cabinet documents, and therefore confidential.
Meanwhile, the ACT government has awarded a $3.1 million contract to NSW-based Delta Group to demolish and remediate the old Woden CIT campus.
The government is planning to use the land as a 1100-space carpark during construction on the $500 million upgrade of nearby Canberra Hospital.
It has yet to settle on a long-term use for the site, although it will be retained for community purposes.
Woden Valley Community Council had been urging the government to refurnish the old buildings and incorporate them into an "allied-heath hub".
The government has maintained the buildings are ridden with contamination and should be demolished.