The ACT government has terminated a contract with development giant Geocon to deliver the long-awaited Kingston Arts Precinct, which has been plagued by delays and community concerns over heritage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Suburban Land Agency will now take over the project, almost five years after Geocon, Canberra's largest property developer, was named the preferred tenderer for the site.
The agency will review the project's timeline and consult again with the community, but the government hopes it will be completed in 2025, 10 years after the project - set to include purpose-built arts facilities alongside residential developments - was put out to tender.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT government was still committed to the area becoming Canberra's premier arts precinct.
"It's important for a balanced outcome to be achieved, and to date we have not seen the progress that we had hoped," Mr Barr said.
"Therefore, following a review on how best to progress the project to integrate arts and heritage, the ACT government has decided to change the delivery method."
The 40,295-square-metre site is the last undeveloped block on the Kingston foreshore, surrounding the heritage-registered Kingston powerhouse and former transport depot.
The ACT government put the site on the market in October 2015, with Mr Barr at the time calling for "creative thinking" from would-be developers. Geocon was announced as the preferred tenderer in 2017.
Key arts organisations - including PhotoAccess, ArtSound FM, M16 Artspace, Craft ACT and Canberra Contemporary Artspace - slated to move to the new precinct signed confidentiality agreements to participate in the design process.
Geocon and the ACT government signed an agreement for the project in July 2019, after protracted negotiations pushed back the scheduled start of construction by more than a year. Construction was originally due to begin in early 2019.
Geocon managing director Nick Georgalis said at the time the development would have the arts community as its focus.
"It will be a place where big ideas are born, where Canberra's creative heart can flourish. I am pleased to report that the plans we will submit go above and beyond what anyone could have dreamt for this site," Mr Georgalis said.
"It will become a world-famous visual arts hub, thrusting Canberra onto the international stage as a community which embraces and fosters culture, artists and vibrancy."
But plans released for the site by Geocon and its architect Fender Katsalidis prompted community backlash, with concerns the initial proposal did not adequately protect the heritage character of the precinct.
Revised conceptual plans released in September 2020 reduced the number of buildings proposed for the site and ensured a heritage-registered 1948 switch room, which has been used as artists' accommodation, would remain.
Architect David Sutherland, a partner at Fender Katsalidis who helped designed the New Acton precinct, said in 2019 that new structures in Kingston would "beguile and encourage" visitors towards the site's heritage buildings, and the plans "actively celebrate" heritage, rather than leaving the Powerhouse and Fitters' Workshop as "heritage tombstones".
A spokesman for Geocon declined to comment on Thursday afternoon.
Now the Suburban Land Agency will review the current designs and develop an updated conservation management plan for the precinct.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
About half of the design development process had been completed, and the design work finished to date will be used as part of a review by the agency and ongoing community consultation.
Arts Minister Tara Cheyne said the government would work closely with arts organisations affected by the decision to terminate the contract.
"The Kingston Arts Precinct will be a leading destination for visitors and locals to explore contemporary visual arts and culture in the ACT. It will attract new audiences to enjoy arts practices, activities and content from Canberra's local artists, the region and beyond," Ms Cheyne said.
"The ACT Government wants to ensure that it is fit for purpose and allows arts organisations to excel in delivering their programs."
Ms Cheyne told an ACT budget estimates hearing last week artsACT, the government arts agency, continued to meet monthly with the organisations that would move into the Kingston Arts Precinct, and the government would soon release a "shared vision" for the precinct with the arts sector and community.
Do you know more? Email jasper.lindell@canberratimes.com.au
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
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.
