Woden Town Centre

Woden Town Centre Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Location of the Woden Town Centre
Established	1966
Postcode(s)	2606
District	Woden Valley
Territory electorate(s)	Murrumbidgee
Federal Division(s)	Canberra

Woden Town Centre is the main commercial centre of the district of Woden Valley in Canberra, Australia. It is located in the Canberra suburb of Phillip. The town centre has a variety of shops and amenities, including office blocks that house Australian departments, and shopping centres like Westfield Woden. The Woden Valley itself was the first satellite city, separate from the Canberra Central district.

Like Phillip, the town centre was established in 1966 and the suburb it is located in was named after Arthur Phillip, who was the first Governor of New South Wales. In 1971, a flash flood caused the deaths of seven people, which occurred right near the Woden Town Centre. The centre is the location of the tallest building in Canberra, the Lovett Tower (formerly known as the MLC Tower).

The Woden Town Centre was established in 1966, following when Phillip was gazetted on 12 May 1966. Like Phillip, except for Swinger Hill, street names in the Woden Town Centre are associated with the First, Second and Third Fleets. Construction began around 1968, when the Fishburn and Sirius buildings, along with the Alexander and Albemarle Buildings were among the first buildings to be built at the centre. On 26 January 1971, a flash flood occurred near the Woden Town Centre, where 95 mm of rain fell in one hour and killed seven people. The Woden Plaza was opened on 18 September 1972 by former Prime Minister of Australia, William McMahon.

Refurbishments for Scarborough House were considered in the 1990s, which were eventually done several years later. The existing Fishburn and Sirius Buildings were demolished in 2007-08 to make way for a new $67 million development housing some of the offices of the Department of Health and Ageing. The old Penrhyn House located at 2-6 Bowes Street was sold for $14 million in June 2012. The building, purchased by the boutique property fund manager went through a revamp, treated with a $10 million upgrade, which is expected to bring back 900 public servants to the Woden Town Centre, due to its sustainable space of 12,622 metres square. In 2014, the Juliana House was reopened by Abode Hotels as a hotel, where the office tower, which once housed the Commonwealth Health and Ageing offices, was closed down and left vacant in 2010. The conversion of the building resulted in the withdraw of 8,500 square metres of space from the ACT property market. The Alexander and Albemarle buildings are set for demolition to make way for a new development plan.