Green light for Hakoah
The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales has delivered a judgment endorsing the agreement confirming final Development Consent conditions for the $60m+ redevelopment of White City delivering of the new state of the art Hakoah Club, community centre and sporting facilities.
The agreement is between Hakoah Club and Woollahra Council on consent conditions.
The consent permits the construction of a new club building as a cultural and community venue, two heated pools, nine tennis courts with a pro-shop, a synthetic playing field, a fitness and wellness centre, and enclosed multi-use courts.
In addition to sports, fitness and wellness, the new Hakoah at White City provides a range of venues for social and community events, cultural activities, meetings and function spaces, and a selection of contemporary food and beverage options.
The tennis courts and pro-shop will be developed and operated by Maccabi Tennis.
The planned Hakoah
President of Hakoah Club, Mr Steven Lowy has welcomed the Development Consent.
He said: “I am delighted at the granting of final development consent conditions. This project which is enormously complex and difficult to deliver will serve community needs for decades to come. This is possibly the most significant milestone on our journey to date, and gives the impetus to launch a final community fundraising effort and membership drive in coming months, before getting construction underway.”
Steven Lowy
Mr Lowy went on to express his appreciation for the professionalism and dedication of the planning team at Woollahra Council who handled the application over the past six years.
J-Wire asked Steven Lowy what happens next.
He told us: “In order to push the go button we need to finalise engagement with major donors to support the project, and then run a community-wide membership campaign. We aim for both of these in the coming months. We still have a significant amount to raise and are confident in doing so, in order to make this dream a reality and we encourage donors to generously support this bold vision.”
With the planned opening of the club at the end of 2023, there are plans in place for membership.
Stephen Lowy added: “We expect to be selling foundation memberships at a range of levels, as well as pre-purchasing an individual membership. Basic membership will be affordable and we will offer a range of attractive discounts on site. Membership packages for both families and individuals are expected to be released in the coming months.”
He also told J-Wire that the new club will have Kosher options.
If the community shows it wants this project and is prepared to purchase memberships en masse Stephen Lowy says “the club expects to be able to begin building by the end of the year/early next year and have the new Hakoah at White City open in late 2023.
