Once home to ageing office blocks, an inward-facing shopping centre and sun-baked open-air car parks, Woden town centre is undergoing a personality change.
The 2015 master plan for the area, and the promise of an extension to Canberra's light rail, has kickstarted urban infill and a growing culture of apartment living.
The population of Phillip — in which the town centre lies — almost doubled from 2016 to 2021, with most of the extra residents living in newly built apartment blocks.
But construction in the area is far from over.
Thousands of extra residents are expected to call Woden home over the next few years and multiple large-scale builds are rising from the earth to accommodate them.
Construction giant Geocon is building its four-tower, 20-plus-storey WOVA development, which will include hundreds of apartments on the old Woden Tradies club site.
The Doma Group is also building four towers of varying heights for The Melrose, which will sit on the land currently occupied by a large car park, across the road from the company's previous redevelopment of two ex-Commonwealth office blocks.
But these are just some of the high-density developments changing the face of Woden.
Clubs join the development charge
If approved, one of the biggest and most public-facing changes to Woden town centre will be the new Hellenic Club.
Its master plan envisages a 150-room, 12-storey hotel built alongside a 16-storey office block.
The club's existing footprint would also incorporate a 2,000-square-metre concert venue and underground parking for 800 cars.
The Southern Cross Club, on the town centre's southern side, has more modest plans for its venue — it hopes to add outdoor street-facing dining areas.
But not far away, the club owns another parcel of land for which it has much bigger plans.
The Southern Cross Club owns "section 79" next to the town centre's main roundabout.
Once a pitch-and-putt course, it has mostly been unused, but Southern Cross wants the land rezoned to allow three residential blocks, from four to 16 storeys, to be built.
Some of the land would also be developed for yet-to-be-determined community use.
The ACT government also plans to continue to release more sites for development in the area, including a prime block in the next 12 months.
"Block 7" is across the road from the Hellenic Club, flanked by Mathilda, Bowes and Callum streets.
It's about 14,000 square metres and zoned for up to 200 dwellings, and is set to be one of the biggest building sites in Canberra.
While planning rules ensure that the site will retain the current 370 car parking spots, as well as residential parking, and the developer will create a public park on Mathilda Street, parking during construction for those who live and work in Woden is sure to be challenging.
Residents of new apartments favour the transformation
Some who live in the Woden valley have been calling for a face lift for the town centre for years. Nonetheless, others say this new density is coming at the cost of residents' access to facilities.
The Ivy apartments were built on the site of a former lawn bowls club, and nearby tennis and basketball courts were also closed.
Col and Michelle Tulley live on The Ivy's top floor after they downsized from a house in Tuggeranong.
They say the area has its own facilities and community.
"It's a great community we live in, the people are wonderful, the whole thing has been a great experience," Mr Tulley said.
"I can look out the window and see where I grew up, where I went to school."
Despite having grown up in a much lower density Woden, Mrs Tulley favours the town centre's new look.
"I think it's going to bring a lot more diversity, make it a bit more dynamic and a bit more alive," she said.
But Jude Dodd from the Woden Community Council said plans for the ageing town square might not improve things.
"It's being zoned for high-rise buildings so it's going to be cold, shady and uninviting. That's what upsets us the most," she said.
"The planning is not for how we can use the square, it's how many apartments and offices can we put in.
"There's a lot of potential not being realised."
The tram without a schedule
The main catalyst for all this change to the Woden town centre is light rail stage 2B.
The ACT government has yet to set a date for the completion of the service to Woden, citing Commonwealth approvals as a barrier.
But it is backing its project and the expansion of facilities in Woden, planning for a new CIT campus on Callum Street.
The campus will be built on the site of the existing bus terminal and include youth and community services.
The government also says an updated public transport hub will feed the students into CIT and help bring other patrons into the broader Woden area.
But with so much new construction about to take place, residents of the Woden valley will have to determine if the short-term growing pain is worth the long-term lifestyle gain.
John Raut, who has worked at the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre for 42 years, says he thinks it will be.
"There's a lot of growth in Woden, a regeneration starting to happen," he said.
"There's more people in the community [now] and I think it is time for Woden to redevelop into a more vibrant city centre."
