Civic is a mess at present, but that will pass. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Is Civic dying? That’s the question many seem to be asking.
Probably. The old one, at any rate.
And that’s no bad thing.
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Civic, preferring the more people-friendly New Acton precinct. Too many surface car parks, tacky shops and pedestrian malls where one never felt quite safe.
It probably started with the Monaro Mall being thrown up to block the Mt Ainslie axis and ruining the flow and feel of the place.
The expansion of the Canberra Centre has come at the expense of the businesses around it, but who doesn’t like a mall when it’s threatening to snow or a heat wave is scorching the streets?
I happened to find myself walking along Bunda Street and Garema Place last Sunday and found myself still ill at ease.
It had nothing to do with the works in progress to give Garema Place a lift or the construction site of the new hotel.
Bunda Street in particular was just as dirty and uninviting as ever and in need of a pressure hose.
But if City Walk is any indication, the City Renewal Authority’s efforts to beautify Civic’s open spaces will bear fruit.
The Garema Place upgrades and new hotel will make a difference, and it is hoped that they will support the businesses that are there and attract new ones.
But there are recalcitrant pockets of grunge, like the East Row bus interchange and Bunda Street, that will need to be rehabilitated to fit in with the new Civic that will emerge from the unprecedented change going on.
At least the heritage-listed Melbourne and Sydney buildings have a fresh coat of paint.
A significant source of angst is the departure of some Commonwealth departments and agencies, such as the Tax Office to Barton, and whether they will be replaced.
With a major new office precinct to be built on the old courts carpark, there are fears that, without new Commonwealth anchor tenants, some of these new purpose-built structures and already-established ones will be white elephants.
However, the Commonwealth’s hunger for A-grade office space appears unsated, and the work-from-home phenomenon is likely only a change of government away from receding.
Despite the doomsayers, Canberra continues to be one of the shining lights in the national office market.
Capital Property Group’s mixed-use proposal for the gateway corner of London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue. Image: ACT Government.
The government’s stated aim of lifting the residential population of Civic is also progressing, with Geocon’s The Grande on London Circuit nearing completion and Capital Property Group planning a multi-building, mixed-use precinct in the former clover leaf on the other side of Commonwealth Avenue.
The rise of this newly built environment and increased population is also making some uneasy. Perhaps they would prefer another rabbit-infested park or an urban woodland (not the worst idea) on this land.
But people will want to live and play in the city, close to where they presumably work.
That should mean no more weekend ghost towns of the like Canberra was known for when, yes, you could get an easy park, but there wasn’t much to do once you were there.
Change is always difficult, especially if it is dramatic. The light rail project, now in full swing, means the city is in upheaval. It is unpleasant and business is suffering.
But by the end of the decade, a new, better-connected and serviced Civic will exist, and one more worthy of the national capital.
Light rail will link the two sides of Civic, new office and residential precincts will enliven the city, and new hotels will attract more visitors.
Culturally, the new Lyric Theatre will be staging productions that would never have come to Canberra in the past, while in the south, the National Convention and Entertainment Precinct should be taking shape.
On the southeast flank, a new UNSW Canberra campus will be reinvigorating the area.
Not that every development proposal will be worthy or won’t have its issues.
Civic will be very different, but anyone who believes it should or could have stayed the way it was is kidding themselves.
