Building tomorrow’s Canberra, today: the projects transforming our city
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This month, HerCanberra turns 15. And that’s long enough to have witnessed Canberra’s transformation, to see the city shift and grow in ways both subtle and significant.
When HerCanberra published its first post back in January 2011, Braddon had a handful of restaurants and a café with a cult following, Lonsdale Street Roasters, nestled amongst car yards and panel beaters. Today, it’s a bustling eat street bursting with independent boutiques, a neighbourhood that’s become a destination in its own right.
Elsewhere across the city centre, NewActon has been reimagined as a cultural and residential heart. Light rail has transformed Northbourne Avenue from a car corridor into an activated urban spine. The city centre itself has evolved from a 9-to-5 government precinct into an all-hours destination where people choose to spend their time.
As Canberra’s population grows, so too do our needs as a community. And that’s about more than just buildings or transport connections – it’s about creating a more connected, liveable city for everyone who calls this place home.
That’s where the projects currently underway in the city centre come in. And while they might be located centrally, their benefits and impact will extend far beyond those few square kilometres.
Underpinned by the ACT Infrastructure Plan, these developments will seek to transform the way our city plays, learns and moves in the coming decades. So what does this look like on the ground?
Light Rail Stage 2A
What is it?
Light Rail Stage 2A will extend the network from the city centre to Commonwealth Park, connecting Canberra’s urban heart and public spaces along the lake foreshore. Along the way, it will change how we move through and experience our city, whilst activating spaces for people to work, live and connect.
The 1.7-kilometre extension from Alinga Street will follow London Circuit West, linking City West and NewActon on its journey to Commonwealth Park. Three new stops – at Edinburgh Avenue, City South, and Commonwealth Park – will make these precincts more accessible.
What it means for Canberra
As more people call Canberra home, this expansion will help reduce traffic congestion while contributing to planned urban development. The project includes new cycling and walking infrastructure, which will support active travel and help make it easier for Canberrans to choose sustainable transport options.
New green corridors have been designed to enhance the city centre: there are plans for landscaped track with established trees, upgraded footpaths which will create room for outdoor dining, and spaces that encourage use and enjoyment.
New lyric theatre
What is it?
A new lyric theatre seating up to 2,000 people will be built on the north side of The Playhouse at Canberra Theatre Centre.
What it means for Canberra
The plan is for the venue to put Canberra on the national touring map. The new theatre will allow Canberra to host major national and international musicals, ballet shows, operas and international acts that currently don’t come to Canberra.
More major productions will attract more visitors to Canberra, which should see a flow-on effect for local shops, cafes and hotels, as well as provide new jobs and opportunities in the arts, events, food and building sectors.
UNSW Canberra City
What is it?
The new UNSW Canberra City is being built on Constitution Avenue, and is expected to attract around 6,000 students and educators.
UNSW Canberra City will offer programs in areas like cybersecurity, defence, artificial intelligence, climate, and public policy. With facilities for education, research, student accommodation and retail, plus a Defence and Security Innovation Precinct, the development is designed to bring together students, researchers, industry and government in one location.
What it means for Canberra
The university’s location in the heart of the city will create a connection between the city centre and the research and innovation corridor that is developing along Constitution Avenue up to Russell.
For local students, it will offer new pathways to study in critical fields without leaving Canberra.
For businesses in the city CBD’s south-east, it will mean thousands of students and staff activating the precinct.
Canberra Aquatic Centre
What is it?
A modern aquatic facility at Commonwealth Park is being designed
The new facility will be designed to be accessible to all Canberrans and support everyone from young families teaching children to swim, to fitness swimmers maintaining their health, to older Canberrans seeking gentle exercise and community connection.
Adding an aquatic complex to Commonwealth Park will provide more amenities in one of the city’s most popular spaces to gather as a community.
Future Canberra
Cities evolve gradually, through layers of investment and vision built up over time. When we look back at the Braddon of 2011, it’s almost unrecognisable as the buzzing urban precinct it is today. Likewise, by 2030 these four projects won’t just be plans and renders but our new reality.
Yes, construction brings disruption – roadworks, changed routes, the patience required when a city reinvents itself. But the vision is for a revitalised city with vibrant spaces, connections between residential areas, workplaces, and the lake, and a transport network built to meet our city’s future needs.
