Work will begin later this year on a new mixed-use precinct in the heart of Canberra's city centre, which will combine space for federal public servants, a hotel and apartments.
Capital Property Group has unveiled plans for the 65,000-square metre precinct at the corner of London Circuit and Northbourne Avenue.
Up to four all-electric, carbon neutral buildings will be built on the site, which is set to include ground-floor retail, restaurants and bars.
Richard Snow, Capital Property Group's head of property, said the project was a strategic investment in the growth and vitality of Canberra's central business district.
"By creating a dynamic mixed-use precinct, the development will enhance the city's identity and reinforce Civic as the heart and lungs of the city, as well as its role as the cultural, commercial, and social heart of Canberra," Mr Snow said.
"The development will offer modern, flexible workspaces and amenities designed to support productivity, collaboration, and employee well-being. This approach highlights the importance of physical workplaces in fostering innovation, creativity and professional networks. With new workspaces acting as an enabler for cultural change."
Capital Property Group said the project would be one of the largest private-sector investments in Canberra and create 1500 jobs during construction.
The group said construction is scheduled to begin by November 2024 with an estimated completion date in 2027.
Mr Snow said the Commonwealth government's recently announced net-zero emissions policy for its workplaces was a critical reason for pursuing the project and targeting top-level environmental sustainability benchmarks.
"The policy demands all electrical buildings, sustainable design benchmarks and minimum Green Star ratings, these all lend themselves to new building designs and we look forward to the Commonwealth's ongoing commitment to this requirement," he said.
The site has been designed by the architects Johnson Pilton Walker.
Johnson Pilton Walker director Mathew Howard said: "The new urban plaza will extend the public realm through the site, integrate green spaces with future Light Rail infrastructure on London Circuit, and establish walkable connections to surrounding civic functions and the broader city centre.
"The distinctive building forms will respond to the unique scale and character of their context, accommodating a diversity of uses that will create a vibrant new civic destination and set new benchmarks in design excellence, sustainability and placemaking."
Capital Property Group bought the 11,381-square-metre site for $53 million in November.
The block, which is currently a surface carpark, was planned 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 2023.
The City Renewal Authority last year 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", the authority said.
City Renewal Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow, who is no relation of Richard Snow, in November 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."
Capital Property Group is also working on plans for a vacant block of land on the corner of Vernon Circle and Constitution Avenue it bought from the territory government for $17.75 million last year.
The group is planning a six-storey office building for the site, which is next to the Constitution Place precinct the group developed and then partially sold for $275 million in 2022.
