THE historic Kingston Powerhouse “Chapel” will not be demolished in the impending Kingston Arts Precinct development.

The powerhouse’s 1948 switchroom, commonly referred to as “the Chapel” was approved for demolition in October 2014, but both the new precinct’s developer Geocon and the Suburban Land Agency have agreed to looking more closely at retaining it.

Consequently, the approved development application for the demolition of the “Chapel” will expire in early October and will not be relied on when Geocon’s development proposal is assessed on its own merits, says Urban Renewal Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith.

Retaining “the Chapel” will form part of the “Tender Concepts” design review.   

“Other questions raised during engagement conversations with the architect and the project team have highlighted a number of other considerations which will also feed into the next stage of Tender Concepts design development as well,” the minister says.

“It is anticipated that this phase will take more than six months to allow further studies to be undertaken to inform ongoing discussions with the community and regulatory agencies.

“ArtsACT, SLA, Geocon and Fender Katsalidis have also worked with arts organisations that will move to the precinct in developing their design requirements of the arts buildings. The resident arts organisations have a pivotal role in collaborating on the design directly with the architects to ensure their current and future needs are met.

“A Community Panel will be established by end of September as an effective forum that will remain throughout the life of the project and will include a broad cross section of community representatives.” 

The community is encouraged to participate at kingstonartsprecinct.com.au