All of the shops in the block at 44 Curtin Place are now closed and an ugly fence has been erected on public land around the building – but no demolition or rebuilding work has been approved. The leaseholder has made no new proposal to the ACT Government to redevelop the site.
The media reported on the fence soon after it went up:
- The Canberra Times ran a story on Thursday 11 January ‘To Me This Is Greed‘
- CRA President Chris Johnson was interviewed on 2CC on Thursday 11 Jan.
- WIN-TV asked for a statement. We wrote:
Building fenced off but no rebuilding proposal
Curtin residents are angry and disappointed that some of their shops have been forced to close – and are now fenced off – when no proposal to rebuild has been approved.
The community is looking to the leaseholder to work with government planners to achieve a development that suits the Curtin Group Centre’s urban village character and meets the Draft Master Plan and ACT Planning Regulations. It has been a year since the first proposal was rejected.
Jobs and viable businesses have been lost or disrupted because of the forced closures, and other businesses in the Centre are suffering. Nobody in government has looked out for these small businesses and jobs.
An intrusive fence around the building encroaches onto Curtin Square and squeezes pedestrians and other businesses in the pedestrian laneway. The ugly side of this action is that services to the community have been lost, and the redevelopment is no closer to starting.
— we will keep you informed —
I have recently returned to Curtin after living overseas for three years. I’m so sad to see what has happened to Curtin shops. I’ve always believed the Curtin shopping centre has incredible potential. The basic design with a central courtyard gives it an advantage over many other local shopping centres in Canberra and lends itself to a really strong community/village feel. The shopping centre has been the focal point for our community. It was wonderful to have our own local businesses where we could buy fruit and veg, a bottle of wine, a book, or some takeaway or a cup of coffee. Sure the infrastructure needs some updating and improvement, but it should not be fundamentally changed. The short term interests of the developer should not take precedence over the longer term interests of local residents and businesses. We need to create a sustainable and vibrant community centre for the future, which would also serve the interests of the developer. I would encourage everyone in our local community to get involved in this, as I plan to do. We need to ensure the Curtin shopping centre reaches its full potential and continues to serve our community well in the years ahead.
Let’s move forward! Let’s find a compromise! Let’s be forward thinking! Imagine what great things the new space will bring! Imagine what community facilities and spirit we can build in the new space!
I know I’m not a long term retailer in Curtin but I know I’m not alone in hoping that we can work together with the owners in finding a way to make this development fabulous for our community!
I note that the fence surrounding the closed Curtin shops now has multiple official looking notices saying ‘Danger do not enter’, ‘Demolition work in progress’ and ‘Asbestos removal in progress’. Is this an indication that work has started on a new development, or at least that they have been given a nod to proceed?