Terry Snow's property group snaps up contentious Civic block

The block of land on the corner of London Circuit and Northbourne Avenue is currently a surface car park between the law courts and the Melbourne Building. It sold for $53 million.

Known as block 40, section 100 City, the site was to be developed into an 11-storey office to house the federal government's Education and Workplace Relations departments from mid-2026.

But the multi-million-dollar deal between developer Walker Corporation, the City Renewal Authority and the National Capital Authority fell apart in August.

The City Renewal Authority has sold the car park to Capital Property Group, which is expected to build a "high-quality mixed-use development".

Existing public car parking would be retained in the new development and there would be an emphasis on sustainability.

It follows Capital Property Group's purchase of another prominent Civic site earlier in November for $17.8 million.

In a statement, the City Renewal Authority said Capital Property Group was one of several tenderers for the car park site when the land was released for sale.

When the agreement with Walker Corporation was terminated, the authority "independently continued with the land release among the existing shortlisted tenderers", it said.

Canberra Airport head of property Richard Snow said the group was excited to transform the site into a "mixed-used precinct featuring up to four buildings".

"It will have a strong food and beverage focus to help attract national and international operators to Canberra and contribute to the vibrancy of our city centre," he said.

Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2024, to be completed in 2027.

The City Renewal Authority's chief executive officer Malcolm Snow, who has no relation to Richard Snow, said he was delighted with the sale.

"This land can be so much more than a car park," he said.

"It will become a high-quality and sustainable development comprising buildings and spaces for thousands of people to connect with each other in the heart of our city."

The land sale was managed by JLL ACT.