The new facilities will be located at the northern end of the AIS campus. Image: Stewart Architecture.
The Australian Sports Commission has taken the first step towards approvals for its ambitious $250 million Australian Institute of Sport campus redevelopment project with a Works Approval application to demolish ageing buildings to make way for new facilities.
It expects to start demolition on 16 June, but how long that will take is still to be confirmed.
The AIS Podium Project is billed as a once-in-a-generation redevelopment of the 75-hectare Bruce campus and the most significant upgrade to the site since it was established in the 1980s.
The project aims to boost Australia’s high-performance sports infrastructure in preparation for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
It will deliver three new state-of-the-art, fully accessible facilities at the northern end of the campus, including new multi-storey athletes’ accommodation, an inflatable indoor Sports Dome and High-Performance Testing and Training Centre (HPTTC).
The 2024-25 Federal Budget allocated $250 million over three years to deliver the facilities recommended by the 2024 Independent Review of the AIS Infrastructure at the AIS campus.
The ACT Government will also welcome the progress, given that a reinvigorated AIS is vital to its own plans for a sport, health and education precinct in Bruce, including a new stadium.
The ASC will deliver the project in two separate packages: Early Works and Enabling Works, and the Main Works.
The Works Approval application submitted to the National Capital Authority includes demolition of the Athletes’ Village (Building 16) and ACT Academy of Sport (Building 20), and removal of hazardous materials and relocation of other amenities.
Separate Works Approval applications will follow for the actual construction of the new facilities.
The Early Works will enable the site to be prepared for the future construction of the High-Performance Testing and Training Centre (HPTTC) and the Sports Dome.
Athlete’s Village accommodation and ACT Academy of Sport programs will be relocated to other parts of the campus.
Athletes will be housed in the Residence of Champions (ROC) to the west of Leverrier Street until new athletes’ accommodation is constructed to the north of the ROC.
Hazardous materials identified in the buildings include asbestos, which must be removed before demolition, and lead paint and Synthetic Mineral Fibre, both of which must be managed during demolition.
Of the 89 trees on site, it is proposed that 49 be removed to enable construction of the new high-performance testing and training facility.
The Tree Management Report says these trees are healthy, but despite all design options being considered, the necessary scale of the future HPTTC and Sports Dome requires them to go.
The demolition works will affect traffic on campus, with Leverrier Street partially closed to allow safe access and movement of construction vehicles.
They will enter the site at the northern end of Leverrier Street to allow access from surrounding roads, including Ginninderra Drive.
Other vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians will be able to access the campus from the southern end of Leverrier Street.
The ACS has already alerted the community to the impending works through letter-boxing and two information sessions.
Comment on the Works Approval application closes on 9 June.
Original Article published by Ian Bushnell on Region Canberra.
