More retailers announced for ANU's new cultural centre

An additional seven retailers have been announced to join Canberra’s newest cultural centre at the Australian National University.

Among the new retailers are ShareTea, Nosh, Otto’s Cafe and Vodafone.

They will be joining the 18 already-opened retailers, including Harry Hartog and STA Travel.

Kambri at the Australian National University is set to have a total of 32 retailers in the coming months. The cultural centre comprises of two lifestyle precincts called The Lane and The Lawn.

The Lane is home to hawker-style tenancies while the lawn acts as a “town square” with indoor and outdoor retail and dining options.

As density increases in Canberra’s inner-city, the addition of new retailers will be welcomed.

ANU chief operating officer Chris Grange said the facilities had been embraced by the wider Canberra community, not just those studying at the university.

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“We’re thrilled to see the Canberra community engaged in the Kambri precinct. The facilities and events hosted at Kambri have been purposely designed so Canberrans can enjoy being part of campus life,” he said.

“We believe we’ve settled on the right mix of retailers to meet student needs, to enhance their campus experience and to entice the community to spend some time at ANU.”

Kambri has 450 student dwellings and is part of the 1300 new beds that opened at ANU last month.

While the additional 1300 beds will be welcomed by students, it’s done little to ease Canberra’s tight rental market. According to Domain, ACT’s vacancy rate for January sits at one per cent.

Nearby Kambri, several new residential developments are in the works.

Among these include Morris Property Group’s Barracks development with more than 1200 residential apartments and Crafted’s The Capitol Residences which has 207 units.