Lendlease Construction, a global construction company, will build the National Security Office Precinct next to York Park, Barton, the Department of Finance announced today.
The precinct is expected to accommodate up to 5,000 workers in Canberra’s National Triangle. Hospitality and retail amenities will serve both the precinct occupants and the wider public.
The federal government claims the precinct would be “a permanent solution to the critical accommodation and capability requirements of several national security and other Commonwealth agencies”.
Several public service agencies find their existing accommodation is not fully fit for purpose and not big enough, the government states.
The Office of National Intelligence and parts of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will use the precinct.
York Park, a Commonwealth-owned site, is currently a temporary car park. The site is bounded by Brisbane Avenue, State Circle, the York Park Oak Plantation, and Windsor Walk.
The Department of Finance chose the site for the precinct in consultation with the National Capital Authority. The National Capital Plan identified the site for development into an office precinct for Commonwealth agencies that need to be near Parliament House.
Construction of the precinct will begin in early 2025.
A multi-level car park will be constructed next to the John Gorton Building, Parkes, later this year, before work on the precinct itself begins. This carpark will be completed next year.
The National Security Office Precinct was announced in Labor’s budget last year. (The Coalition government began work on the project in 2020.)
- What’s in the Budget for the ACT? (26 October 2022)
“This is an important step in a major project for the ACT that will support jobs and provide accommodation for the public service,” Senator Katy Gallagher, Minister for Finance, said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr predicted last year that the project would create thousands of jobs during the 2023–28 construction period.
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