A heritage-registered building near the Kingston powerhouse which was slated for demolition would be saved under the latest plans for the Kingston arts precinct.
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The number of buildings proposed for the site, which surrounds the Kingston powerhouse and is the last undeveloped block on the Kingston foreshore, has been reduced in the newest proposal following community feedback, the Sunday Canberra Times understands.
The latest plans would also add greater visibility of the powerhouse from Wentworth Avenue retained.
An earlier proposal for the precinct included a multi-storey car park on the site of the heritage-registered switch room building.
Demolition plans for the building, which was constructed in 1948 and has been used as artists' accommodation for the neighbouring Glassworks, were approved in October 2014, before the Kingston arts precinct was put out to tender.
Approval to knock down the building expired in October 2019.
In September last year, precinct developer Geocon and the Suburban Land Agency agreed to leave the building in place while options for its future were considered.
The agency at the time did not rule out demolishing the building in the future.
Community members and the ACT National Trust have long campaigned to save the building and have it incorporated into the future use of the site.
The precinct will include purpose-built facilities for so-called key arts organisations, which have signed confidentiality agreements to participate in the design process.
Residential dwellings and commercial spaces will also be built on the site.
The updated plans come after the National Capital Design Review Panel expressed concern last month the Geocon-led consortium developing the precinct had not engaged with the ACT Heritage Council to address issues with the project.
Four former chairs of the ACT Heritage Council this week called on candidates running in the ACT election to fundamentally rethink the plans for the precinct.
"While this development has undergone numerous planning studies over many years that have respected its heritage values, the current proposed design shows a complete lack of respect for the historic buildings, particularly through over-development of the site," the group wrote.
However, it is unclear whether the letter referred to the latest plans which would retain the switch room and construct fewer buildings on the site.
The ACT government last year signed an agreement with Geocon, after the developer, alongside architects Fender Katsalidis and Oculus, won the tender for the site in February 2017.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
