Hakoah White City eyes Pesach 2027 opening
'We've had massive challenges on the physical construction, I believe they're now behind us. We're about to restart the project'
After years of unforeseen delays, Hakoah president Steven Lowy says the club has “broken the back of the challenges” the White City project has faced, with construction set to resume imminently and the complex to open by Pesach 2027.
Speaking to The AJN ahead of the club’s annual general meeting last Thursday, Lowy said the need for the community hub had become even more urgent since October 7.
“The purpose of creating Hakoah was to recreate the hub so Jews could do all the things they love to do together, sport, music, culture, art, food, everything from children learning how to swim to grandparents going to fitness classes, everything,” Lowy said.
“Then, of course, October 7 hit us, and life for all of us is different post October 7, the level of antisemitism is what it is. It’s not going away. The genie is out of the bottle.
“When we use the term a ‘safe place’ for us to be, we’re not only referring to a security safe place, [but] a place where people feel comfortable and safe in their soul and in their heart to be, and so it’s even more important than it was.”
Lowy said major donors – who have been called on to pledge further as the project’s cost has escalated – had demonstrated extraordinary generosity toward the project.
“We’ve seen a level of generosity from the major donors of our community towards this project in the first instance, and now again, in the second instance, because it’s so important for them. They know it is an essential piece of infrastructure for our community,” he said.
“When you’re together, you’re strong. You’re united, you gain something stronger than you can do on your own.”
He emphasised the club would also welcome with open arms non-Jewish members who share its values. “We will be unashamedly Zionistic, unashamedly supportive of Israel, but we will be also unashamedly proud Australians,” he said.
On construction challenges, Lowy said, “I and the board are very focused on transparency to the community. They are important stakeholders in making it happen, and I feel a deep responsibility to share the problems, the challenges and the solutions.
“We’ve had massive challenges on the physical construction, I believe they’re now behind us. We’re about to restart the project. We’re confident we should be able to finish by Pesach of ’27. We’ve got a very good builder. We haven’t raised all the money, but we’ve raised the large chunk of the money.”
The club currently has 3200 members, the majority coming on board organically. “We started this project at the tail end of COVID. We never had a function. We had a couple of small, you know, donor functions, but we never had a community function,” Lowy said.
The club will launch a renewed membership drive next year, targeting eight to ten thousand members. “There’s a large part of our community that is unaware of the importance of a community centre. I think that most people can’t quite envisage what it is until it’s there,” Lowy said.
“I’m sure once we get going that will be an exciting thing for people to become part of. And then I would imagine close to the opening, when people come there for the first time and they say, ‘Oh my God, look at these community facilities that we have, I must become a member.'”
In his president’s report delivered at last Thursday’s AGM, Lowy said the club had signed a Letter of Intent with Richard Crookes Constructions and expected to secure a fixed-price contract before Christmas. He revealed the project cost would be approximately $150 million, up substantially from the $93 million figure mentioned in late 2023.
“This is clearly a substantial increase due to current market conditions and is, unfortunately a result of the necessary termination of the previous builder and the extremely difficult post-COVID construction environment,” Lowy said.
Major donors have pledged an additional $37 million, bringing total donations and memberships to $95 million. Combined with $22.5 million in government grants, the club still has a shortfall of approximately $10 million which it plans to raise through broader community fundraising and advance memberships.
The pause in construction allowed for design improvements including an enhanced club lounge and restaurant overlooking the sports field, and a versatile event space suitable for 500-person theatre-style seating or 280-person weddings. “These enhancements will greatly improve both member experience and the club’s financial outcome,” Lowy said.
He told The AJN, “I’m enormously appreciative of Allan Vidor and the Toga Group. His development and design team have assisted us in the value management process and in the redesign, to not only improve cost but improve the outcome.”