The government's long-awaited new office block for ACT public servants is back on the agenda, with Treasurer Andrew Barr calling for registrations of interest to build it.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Bowing to concerns about vacant office space in the city, Mr Barr said he would consider a refurbishment of existing office space as well as a new build.
But it must be within 10 minutes' walk of the Legislative Assembly building in London Circuit, he said, a restriction that will significantly curtail refurbishment options.
The new 40,000 square metres of office space will house 3400 public servants, many of whom are working in substandard accommodation around the city.
Mr Barr said decisions about which public servants would be housed there had not been made. Territory and Municipal Services bureaucrats working at Macarthur House in Northbourne Avenue are potentially on the list, with the building earmarked for sale as part of the Northbourne redevelopment.
The $430 million on-again off-again project was first announced in 2010 as a government build on the carpark west of the Assembly building on London Circuit, including a ministerial wing and a whimsical "sky bridge" to link it to the Assembly building. But two years ago, the government shelved the idea of undertaking the building itself, deciding instead to go with the property industry's preference for a block built and owned by the private sector, with the government as a tenant.
This is the model now on the table. The London Circuit carpark is still top of the government's thinking. A new building there would provide a link to the planned convention centre and the lowering of Parkes Way, which will allow City Hill and London Circuit to lead directly to the lake over Parkes Way.
Mr Barr said decisions had not been made on whether it would house a ministerial wing, and it was unlikely to be ready in time for the expanded Assembly at the 2016 election.
He said cost was an issue for the private sector, with the government paying only for the fit-out and 25-year tenancy.
The news comes as work progresses on a new Gungahlin office block, which will house 650 ACT public servants from the Callum offices in Woden and other buildings when finished in 2015.
Liberal treasury spokesman Brendan Smyth asked why the city project was not in last month's budget, which sets out capital works plans for the year ahead.
"There's no mention of it in the budget," he said. 'Why wouldn’t you list a $400 million project?"
Not including it meant it could not be scrutinised in the just-finished estimates hearings, and made it difficult for the business community to plan. And he said "a great big new building" would only worsen the problem of vacant office space.
"If this goes ahead, the government's interfering in the market quite dramatically at a time when the property market, particularly in Civic, is not in the best shape," he said.
But the revival of the project was welcomed by the Community and Public Sector Union, whose ACT secretary Vince McDevitt said ACT public servants were working in C and D class buildings, unlike their federal counterparts. Their offices had "dodgy air conditioning systems", "crappy lifts" and were well past their use-by date, he said.
"The Callum offices are cold and sterile, it's just horrible. Macarthur House, jeez it's a tired old horrible building, and even Moore Street, that's a crappy old building too, so we are quite supportive of improved accommodation for our members," he said.
Property council executive director Catherine Carter also said she would have liked to have seen the project in the budget.
But she welcomed the announcement. She did not express a preference for refurbishment or new build, saying there were also developers looking for opportunities in a very slow market, but equally owners looking for tenants. Vacancy rates for commercial office space in the city were 12 per cent, the highest of any capital, she said.
“That is a matter for concern because nobody wants to see languishing precincts and areas where buildings are not occupied,” she said.
Either way, it should be a quality, energy efficient building that delivered the best value for money, she said.
Chief executive of Canberra CBD Jane Easthope strongly supported the call for expressions of interest for refurbishment as well as a new build. She supported the consolidation of public servants under one roof, which she said would make the government more efficient and effective.
“When you look at their property portfolio and how dispersed it is something has to be done,” she said. “We’re delighted that they're choosing to consolidate in the city centre.”
Property developers were “hanging out for tenants”, she said, pointing to the Garema Court building in Garema Place, empty on all but the ground floor since the Commonwealth left and having a profound effect on businesses in the area.
Mr Barr said shortlisted companies from the registrations of interest would be issued a request for tender, from which three or four would be chosen to submit final bids.
