A $146 million redevelopment of the Hellenic Club in Woden is a step closer after the territory's planning authority approved three development applications for the site.
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The club on Tuesday announced it had received the development approval and the first stage of the project, a basement car park, would likely begin construction early next year.
The three-stage redevelopment is set to include a a 12-storey hotel, a 16-storey office block, plus restaurants, shops and an auditorium.
"The Hellenic Precinct is a visionary blueprint that reflects our club's commitment to a vibrant and diversified future while preserving our roots in the Woden Town Centre," Hellenic Club board president Andrew Satsias said in a statement.
The club submitted the three development applications in December 2022, after a community consultation process that began in August.
Renders released in December showed open public spaces surrounded by towering columns, a rooftop infinity pool and grand entryways in the designs.
A covered entryway is proposed for Bowes Street, designed as a pick-up and drop-off point for hotel and office users.
Another application covers the construction of the office building, including restaurants on the ground floor, a medical centre on level one and club administration spaces on level two.
A covered ground-floor agora, the Greek term for a central public space, will connect the spaces with colonnaded buildings housing shops, cafes and restaurants.
A separate application covered a 151-room hotel, complete with a rooftop pool, restaurants and bar on the ground floor level, an indoor recreation facility on level one and an auditorium on levels two and three.
Three "eat streets" will feed into the agora, offering a range of dining options, the plans showed.
When the masterplan for the club was announced in April 2022, Mr Satsias said the club planned to capitalise on the growing residential population of Woden to sustain its future.
"Building on the significant residential development that is already occurring across the town centre, our goal has been to identify multiple commercial anchors that will drive foot traffic and visitation to our site," he said.
The club has stopped short of saying it would remove gambling machines from its venues, but indicated in April 2021 the redevelopment plans would diversify its sources of revenue and lessen its reliance on poker machines.
The Hellenic Club, which was established in 1970, opened its building in Phillip in February 1979. At June 30, 2022, the club had 49,436 members, its annual report said.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
