Canberra’s Labor Club is again in the news after plans were revealed that its City Club tenancy at 32 Petrie Plaza is under threat from a redevelopment plan.
NDH Property Pty Ltd has begun a period of community consultation before it is expected to lodge a development application for a 13-storey office block on Petrie Plaza in Civic, which includes the site of the City Labor Club.
As ClubTIC reported last month, The Canberra Labor Club Group reported a loss of more than $10 million in the past financial year, connected to the loss of gaming revenue through the pandemic as well as losses connected to the opening of its new Mercure hotel in Belconnen.
The Canberra Labor Club Group owns and operates four licensed clubs throughout the ACT – City, Belconnen, Ginninderra and Weston Creek.
The opening and operation of the group’s new five-storey, 125-room, Mercure Canberra Belconnen in January 2020 led to an impairment of $11.7 million, the Labor Party-owned club’s chief executive, Arthur Roufogalis, said in his report.
Mr Roufogalis said the Club is now in talks with the landlords of its City venue about its future, which could include closure during construction or a complete relocation.
“The club will remain somewhere, somehow,” he told RiotACT.com.
NDH Property says the project includes a landscaped laneway from Petrie Plaza to Ainslie Place and reinvigorating the “unloved utilitarian space” at the rear.
