Developers have been invited to submit designs for a new mixed-use precinct to include housing and a hotel at a landmark site in Kingston before a long-planned arts centre is built.
The ACT government will release a parcel of land in the last undeveloped area of the Kingston foreshore, for sale by design-based tender that will require interested developers to respond to plans for the arts precinct.
The 21,360-square-metre site, next to the heritage-registered Kingston Powerhouse, former transport depot and Fitters Workshop, will include up to 250 new homes and residential, hotel, hospitality, retail and commercial space, the government said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the development would create a new place for Canberrans and visitors to live, stay, work and enjoy one of the city's top destinations.
"Importantly, our focus is on delivering the housing and commercial outcomes first. This approach will build the activity and investment needed to support the long-term success of the Kingston Arts Precinct," Mr Barr said in a statement.
"Another key principle of this development is that new parking will be delivered early. We know parking is important for local businesses, residents, workers and visitors. The staged delivery model means replacement parking comes first, ensuring access to the precinct is maintained as development progresses."
The site, dubbed "Kingston Quarter", was located 100 metres from the waterfront at Kingston and was CZ5-zoned land, allowing for between four and six storeys, the Suburban Land Agency said on its website.
The agency in October 2025 applied to subdivide the area around the Kingston Powerhouse to facilitate the development of the arts precinct.
Potential developers have been invited to submit concept designs alongside their tender response before October 20, 2026.
"The successful tenderer will be required to undertake further community engagement to support the development of the site," the government said.
Long-planned facilities for arts organisations at Kingston have been pushed back by the government, which moved to find $700 million in savings from its infrastructure budget over the next four years. Construction had been expected to start in 2027.
Mr Barr revealed earlier in June, before the release of the territory budget, the arts precinct would be a high-profile casualty of the infrastructure cuts, with the buildings for arts organisations to be staged over coming years while work started first on car parking and artist housing.
On Tuesday, Mr Barr said the initial land release would support public parking, end-of-trip facilities and artist housing.
"Once that parking capacity is in place, further stages of the precinct can move forward with confidence," he said.
"This is about getting the sequencing right. We are delivering the infrastructure first, protecting access during construction, and creating the foundations for an arts and cultural destination that will serve Canberra for decades to come."
Infrastructure Canberra took over the job of building a new arts centre at Kingston while the Suburban Land Agency was made responsible for subdividing the site and releasing land for apartments under machinery-of-government changes last year.
The original, larger Kingston Arts Precinct site was first put on the market in October 2015, and the ACT government signed an agreement for the project with Geocon in July 2019, after protracted negotiations pushed back the scheduled start of construction by more than a year. Construction was originally due to begin in early 2019.
The ACT government announced in November 2021 it had terminated the Geocon contract, nearly five years after the developer was named the preferred tenderer.
At the time, the government said it hoped the precinct would be completed in 2025. The Kingston site has been earmarked for an arts precinct since the late 1990s.
