Canberra icons and well kept secrets
What do the National Portrait Gallery, the suburb of Crace and the Monash Green retirement living development in Tuggeranong all have in common?
They are all former recipients of the Property Council of Australia’s ACT Development of the Year Award.
Each year, the Property Council hosts awards to recognise the invaluable contribution our industry makes to Canberra’s local economy and community.
This year, the most highly-coveted award was presented to Goodwin Aged Care Services for Monash Green, a development which shows why downsizing can mean upsizing in terms of amenity and liveability.
Monash Green joins Canberra icons and well-kept secrets. NewActon has changed the way Australia thinks about precincts. The National Portrait Gallery and extension to the National Gallery of Australia are superb investments in our cultural capital. The RM Hope Building at 2 National Circuit has preserved an art deco delight for future generations, while the suburb of Crace has reinvented the Great Australian Dream.
“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us,” Winston Churchill famously remarked. Never was this truer than for Canberra. Custom-built capital cities are shaped by the desire to make them symbols for national identity. But once erected, our buildings play a central part in forging our cultural identity and the liveability of our city.
Today, we can be proud of our city that frequently tops the rankings as Australia’s most liveable. We have buildings that remind us of the past and inspire us to a better future. And we have a vibrant property and construction sector that underpins Canberra’s economic growth.
In fact, the property and construction industry generates almost 25,000 jobs across the ACT and is the second largest employer. The sector contributes $2.6 billion to the economy – just under 10 per cent of the Territory’s total wealth. It also more than pays its dues, contributing more tax than other industry.
We build the communities, homes and workplaces that the people of Canberra need to flourish. So, let’s acknowledge the contribution our industry has made to Canberra, and ensure we support its future.
Catherine Carter is ACT Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia