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The National Capital Commission is launching an international design competition to reimagine Nepean Point.

Details will be released Thursday at the NCC’s board meeting and a winning design is expected to be unveiled by the end of the year.

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Nepean Point — the 2.5-hectare site behind the National Gallery of Canada and overlooking the Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal — might be Ottawa’s most inspiring vista, but for more than two decades, it has been underused.

The Astrolabe theatre, with its spectacular views of Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River and the canal, was one of the capital’s finest sites for open-air shows, but performances ceased in 1995. The NCC announced plans for its demolition in 2014.

The structures are outdated, the open-air amphitheatre is contaminated with asbestos and mould, and the site no longer meets accessibility standards, according to the NCC. Its renewal is one of 17 major projects the NCC will undertake to transform Ottawa over the next five decades.