Proposed five-star hotel in Manuka still bringing hope to businesses

Once a home of storytelling, the history of the area that used to hold Capitol Theatre in Manuka may be even more interesting than some of the films shown in its walls.

The Liangis family, a name known by almost all in the area, initially bought the building in the late 1980s.

In 2007, head of Liangis Developments Pty Ltd Sotiria Liangis sold her property portfolio including the cinema for upwards of $80 million dollars, before buying it back again in 2010 for a cheaper price.

Mrs Liangis bought the block of land located next to the cinema in 2015, and put in a development application for a 200-plus room five-star hotel to be built there in 2018, with costs likely to reach $40 million. The plan was, and is, to build another cinema on the site too.

Mrs Liangis told The Canberra Times in 2019 things were "full steam ahead" for the development of the hotel, but three years later, it remains much the same. Graffiti stains the walls, and lop-sided building fences surround the area.

Both Sotiria Liangis and her son John Liangis were approached for comment. Mrs Liangis told The Canberra Times there was nothing to add regarding the hotel's progress.

Head of the Inner South Canberra Business Council John-Paul Romano said the general consensus in the area is businesses want things to be done as soon as possible.

"Everyone wants it done and wants it done right," he said. "They are just saying when, when, when."

He said there is no obvious answer, and despite the anger it causes, everyone is aware it will be a number of years before anything will be completed.

"As far as I know, stage one is done, and that is where we are at. There is still stage two to complete, and realistically that will take years," he said.

Business owners are in agreement the hotel will bring much needed foot traffic through the Manuka shops again, but Manuel Notaras, owner of Caph's restaurant and bar located on Franklin Street, said he is embarrassed when he tells tourists and customers visiting his shop about what is looming over them across the street.

Caph's has been in his family for more than 35 years, and he said the state of Manuka has never been worse than it is now.

He acknowledges, however, the hotel will be beneficial to the area as a whole and he appreciates what the Liangis family are trying to do for Manuka.

There is only so much that can be done by them alone, he said.

"It's time for the government to act. Barr needs to pull his finger out and help bring Manuka back to where it used to be," he said.

"The Liangis family are doing the best thing that can be done for the area, their hotel will do absolute wonders for businesses around here.

"But they just keep hitting road blocks and there is nothing they can do, at the moment it's just embarrassing."

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Elijah Notaras, Manuel's son, said the family restaurant and a lot of other businesses in Manuka have been noticing the drop in customer numbers.

"To the naked eye, the amount of people in Manuka day-to-day has definitely dropped - it's becoming a place where if you know about it you will be here, but if you don't you won't," he said.

"When the cinema used to be here, we would be busy on Monday through to Thursday nights, but now it gets so quiet by 8pm."

Department of the Exterior owner Susan Taylor, who has worked in the area for 19 years, said there was never a need to worry about her business.

Ms Taylor said she is thankful for her client base and the exclusivity of her shop's stock, following the steady decline of shop owners in Manuka over recent years.

She said she is looking at the situation in Manuka "pragmatically", and accepts the natural ups and downs that come with being a shop owner in the area.

"Post lockdown, there was definitely a shake out of shops and more shops that became empty, but that is much the same no matter where you are," she said.

"Right now things are down a bit in terms of numbers in the area generally speaking, but I have no doubt that will swing back up."

Despite the mutterings of the new hotel in the area over the years, Ms Taylor said she hardly ever thinks about it, which she added may be due to her location within the shopping district.

"I'm Bougainville Street facing, and there are new stores moving in on this side," she said.

"I don't know much about what is going on with the hotel, but there is no doubt that more people in this area will increase numbers and do good things for business."

Both Ms Taylor and the Notaras' said there is more than just the development of the hotel to be done to make Manuka the place it deserves to be.

For Elijah Notaras, more parking nearby would mean more people can discover what Manuka has to offer, and for Ms Taylor, nicer conditions in Palmerston Lane will help clean up Manuka's image as a whole.

But for President of Griffith Narrabundah Community Association David Denham, there is a check list of things which must be changed.

"The worst thing about the area as a whole is absolutely the unfinished hotel, and we don't know what is going on with it," he said.

"We are also concerned about the safety around the Coles area - there are zebra crossings there but so much of that paint has gone it's hard to know where to cross for both cars and pedestrians.

"We have gone to the government about the taxi bay, which is usually empty, to see about the possibility of converting it into more car spaces."

He said there will undoubtedly be a benefit to the area once the hotel is complete, but without other action, Manuka has been "left to die".

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