The venerable Hellenic Club has secured approval for a massive $146 million redevelopment of its site, reimagined to include a large hotel, office space, health services and retail.
Three development applications were recently approved by the ACT’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate for the site in Canberra’s Woden.
The ‘Hellenic Precinct’ redevelopment will bring two levels of restaurants, shops and a bar, plus gym and day spa, a 16-storey office building, and a hotel with 151 rooms and a rooftop infinity pool. There will also be an auditorium, multicultural facilities and four levels of basement parking.
A centrepiece will be the roofed ‘Agora’, being Greek for ‘gathering place’.
The Hellenic Club opened in 1979 to address the need for a meeting place for the city’s growing Greek community. In recent decades it has expanded to count more than 50,000 members.
Management says the expansion, which incorporates upscale dining and social spaces and plans to attract both domestic and international visitors, is part of its ‘future-proofing’ plans and move to reduce its reliance on gaming machines by creating other revenue streams.
“We have held true to our focus on a non-residential development and identified multiple commercial anchors to drive foot traffic and visitation to our site and the broader town centre,” says board president Andrew Satsias.
Woden is Canberra’s central hub in the south, and recent years have seen the town centre lose a number of social amenities.
Woden Valley Community Council offers it hoped for a holistic plan with money put toward reintroduction of social and recreational community facilities, for the population’s mental and physical health.
Construction on the Precinct is to be done in three stages, the first, bringing a new building with the multi-level parking, to begin in early 2024.
