The biggest change to Woden's town centre in 50 years is a step closer with the Canberra Institute of Technology's future campus on track to open in 2025.
The new campus includes a state-of-the-art educational facility, a light rail-ready public transport interchange, and more green spaces for residents, students, commuters and businesses.
CIT's Woden campus will be used by 6500 students each year.
After a development application was approved for the main building, another tower crane will be added to the CIT Woden project in the next month.
Storm works are also under way along Callum Street to service the new public transport interchange.
"We're investing in this transformational infrastructure project to support the future skills our city needs, but it has also been a game changer for the regeneration of Woden Town Centre," Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said.
The following updates are coming to Woden as part of the project:
- specialist learning environments for hairdressing and beauty therapy, creative design, and media and music
- state-of-the-art cyber training and digital learning spaces
- a training restaurant and bar with simulated kitchens
- collaboration and group-work learning spaces
- a multi-purpose hall available for external events, common areas and greenspaces
- incubator hubs and spaces for collaboration with industry and local business.
Feedback from various community consultations had also been incorporated into the design of the building and precinct.
"We have heard the community and worked closely with our project delivery partner, Lendlease, to improve weather protection, connections to nearby active travel routes, safety, precinct activation and build in more green space," Mr Steel said.
"The precinct will also include new public spaces and family friendly areas, together with more planting and canopy cover, that will see the heart of the town centre transformed."
The minister said a 2.7 metre-wide colonnade linking the transport interchange to the CIT main campus building will be built to increase the overall covered area.
Community consultation also revealed Woden's town centre needed more safety measures. As a result of the project, Mr Steel said improved passive surveillance, pick up and drop off facilities, and better disability and business access around CIT and the transport interchange would be implemented.
Additionally, a slow speed local access street connecting Bowes and Bradley streets will be put in place.
There will be a period of disruption due to construction of the new campus. Woden's bus interchange has moved to the Matilda Street carpark, and the minister said he heard Canberrans actually prefer the temporary interchange to the old one.
Staff and students are expected to begin at CIT Woden in the second half of 2025.
Mr Steel said the completion would make way for the University of NSW to move into the current CIT campus in Reid and begin master-planning their new campus in the heart of Canberra.
"This has major benefits, not just in terms of providing new TAFE infrastructure for CIT Woden but also new tertiary education infrastructure in the city," Mr Steel said.
Mr Steele said the project had already become a place of learning as multiple Australian school-based apprentices had been employed to work on the site.
