Canberra plans CBD conference forum
ACT chief minister Katy Gallagher is calling for expressions of interest for a design process for a major redevelopment of central Canberra.
The Australia Forum development would include high-rise apartments, a luxury hotel and the proposed new convention centre with a banquet cum ball room, a meeting hall, offices, and exhibition and retail spaces at an expected cost of $400 million.
The 350 to 400-bed hotel and apartments would create a gateway for the view towards Parliament House.
Ms Gallagher said, “Part of the success of the Australia Forum is that it has to be for the nation’s capital as well and the site will be fantastic to promote.”
Ms Gallagher signalled that high-rise hotels and development were part and parcel of the project and central to profitability. “There’s no money in convention centres,” Ms Gallagher said. “But [it] can stack up if you’re doing hotels and other development around them.”
