Canberra's commercial property market continues to show signs of a turnaround as another major office building is put to market.
Canberra House, situated at 40 Marcus Clarke Street, most recently came to the public's attention after a large inflatable crab appeared on its facade as part of the 2026 Canberra Art Biennial.
The building at 40 Marcus Clarke Street is the second major Civic office block to be listed by the Morris Property Group in the past month.
It followed the listing of One City Hill, a major development between Edinburgh Avenue and Vernon Circle, on August 20, just over a year after construction on the building was completed.
Canberra House is about one-fifth of the size of its City Hill cousin, but is still expected to fetch more than $50 million, according to the selling agents at Colliers.
An international expression of interest campaign is being run by Matthew Winter and Paul Powderly. The campaign will end at 3pm on Thursday, October 22.
Morris Property Group invested more than $3.2 million in upgrading the building, bringing it up to a 4.5-star NABERS energy rating.
During the renovation, the ground floor was transformed into No Name Lane, a food and beverage precinct which now includes a banh mi restaurant and wholefoods cafe. All 2301 square metres of the precinct is currently tenanted.
Chief operating officer James Morris said diversified income streams like those offered by Canberra House were becoming increasingly difficult to find in the CBD.
"Canberra House has evolved into much more than an office building," Mr Morris said.
"The creation of No Name Lane has established a genuine destination for food and hospitality while the investment we have made in the building has significantly improved the experience for tenants and visitors.
"We are extremely proud of the refurbishment works, the quality of the tenant covenant and the way No Name Lane has developed into an established Canberra retail destination."
All 2301 square metres of No Name Lane are currently occupied, which Mr Morris said was a "strong reflection" of the appeal created within the precinct. About 70 per cent of the office space is tenanted.
The two Morris Property Group buildings are joined on the market by the Edmund Barton Building, which houses the Australian Federal Police headquarters, and 255 London Circuit, which is home to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Together with the April sale of the Australian Federal Police College, and the July sale of AMA House in Barton, Canberra's commercial property market is set for a turnaround after last year's poor performance.
Just $320 million of commercial property transacted in 2025, most of which was in the sale of the Yaradhang Building in December for $305 million.
"Canberra is seeing a return of quality investment opportunities after a period in which relatively few institutional-grade assets came to market," Mr Winter said.
"Transaction volumes have been building year-on-year and we expect 2026 to exceed the approximately $320 million recorded in 2025."
