TRANSFORMING CANBERRA’S CITY CENTRE DISCUSSIONPAPER MARCH 2015 Property Council of Australia Canberra CBD Limited (ACT Division) PO Box 902 Level 1, AMP Building Civic Square ACT 2608 1 Hobart Place Canberra ACT 2601 t: 02 6162 4292 f: 02 6162 1189 t: 02 6248 6902 e:
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[email protected] www.inthecitycanberra.com.au www.propertyoz.com.au 2 | PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA CONTENTS Background 4 Understanding The Challenge 7 Economic Indicators 7 Commercial Office Market 8 Retail Sector Vacancies 10 The Opportunity For Canberra 12 Lessons From Postcode 3000 13 What Did Postcode 3000 Achieve? 13 How Was The Program Structured? 14 Applying Melbourne’s Lessons To Canberra 16 Broad-Based 16 Refined 18 Specific 19 Innovative 20 Creating A Cultural Precinct In Canberra’s CBD 21 Lessons From NewActon 22 Next Steps 25 Financial 25 Regulatory 26 Technical 26 Market 26 Community 26 People 26 Conclusion 27 Appendix 28 TRANSFORMING CANBERRA’S CITY CENTRE DISCUSSION PAPER | 3 BACKGROUND A city without a vibrant centre is a city without a heart – and Canberra’s city centre is in drastic need of CPR. Stretching from Braddon in the north to The size of the opportunity is as vast as the CBD Constitution Avenue in the South, and from the itself. The CBD is 116 hectares in total, and the 1.5 Canberra Centre across to the Australian National kilometre walk from the Canberra Centre to the University, Canberra’s CBD is currently a place of lake is something many have observed requires a great potential – and of missed opportunity.