The Australian National University is planning to revive Canberra's iconic ANU Bar as part of its multi-million dollar redevelopment of Union Court, but without the thing that made it famous: live music.
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The university's decision to tear down the beloved venue sparked outcry (and a brief legal stoush) last year, as Canberrans recalled watching acts from Nirvana to Nick Cave grace its stage.
Now, the ANU has quietly put in a development application to turn the ground floor of the ANU Commons and its surrounding courtyards into a new home for the pub, which would be run once again by the ANU Union.
But a noise assessment carried out at the city site found that, despite the bar's "rich live music history", the new incarnation of the venue could no longer host performances without encroaching on noise restrictions in the area.
Along with students living upstairs in the building, the nearest apartments not associated with ANU are just 250 metres away on Watson Street.
Under a strict set of provisions and soundproofing that will include acoustic door seals, the report calculated normal bar noise from patrons and recorded music at the venue would fall within accepted standards.
The bar would make "a positive contribution towards vibrancy in the city", the application said, and profits would go back into the student-run ANU Union.
An ANU spokeswoman said discussions with potential vendors for the bar were ongoing and the university could not comment until a lease had been formally negotiated.
The ANU Union did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday, but the application says it has agreed to all the new noise provisions.
The bar will sit just outside the ANU's ambitious new Kambri precinct, which is slated to open next year boasting a cinema and theatre as well as about three bars of its own.
The university spokeswoman said live music was a key part of its vision for the "entertainment and cultural hub" but approval for gigs would come down to individual retailers.
While at least 400 new beds for students are also being built in the new-look Union Court, the spokeswoman said noise standards would be less restrictive in the area as it would fall under the ANU's own remit and complaints could be handled internally.
Last year, the ANU Union declared it was in "survival mode" after failing to win a tender to run a temporary bar at the university's pop-up village during construction. It took the ANU to court over its eviction from the former Union Building and later reached a deal to keep running student services off campus.
But the future of the ANU Bar, which is understood to have contributed the lion's share of the union's revenue, has remained up in the air ever since.
A number of Canberra artists lamented the state of the city's live music scene, as The Phoenix on East Row faced its own battle to stay open.
Former events manager of the ANU Refectory Peter Spicer said the ANU Bar was once firmly on the international touring circuit, with room to draw the kind of crowds not possible in some of Canberra's smaller surviving venues.
"The legacy of ANU Bar has been going since the 70s when the Skyhooks and some of the other great foundational Australian bands starting coming through," Mr Spicer said.
"It's a great shame [to hear] it won't host live acts anymore.
"There is some good stuff happening in Canberra, the Spilt Milk festival is great, but Canberra deserves to have a large music venue again."
The development application for the new ANU Bar is open for public consultation until July 6.
