The historic Hub Theatre in Newtown is set to be transformed into a queer performance venue after its owners of 58 years sold it and a nearby house for $25 million.
Located at 7-13 Bedford Street, opposite Newtown station and behind Pride Square and the Inner West Pride Centre, the disused theatre was sold to Barbara Doreen White. According to a property source, she purchased the venue for her daughter to convert it into a queer performance space.
As part of the sale, White also acquired 15 Bedford Street, a house behind the theatre, for $2 million.
The combined $25 million sale is believed to be among the most significant property transactions in Newtown's history. The suburb's record remains the $25.4 million purchase of the Marlborough Hotel in 2017.
The Daily Telegraph, which first reported on the sale, had little to say about the new owner, who doesn't appear to have much of a public profile or online presence.
Dimitri Vlattas, one of the outgoing co-owners of the theatre and house, told Gay Sydney News that the venue had been in his family since 1966, when his grandfather Chris Louis purchased it.
"I didn't want to part with it," Vlattas told GSN of the sale. "It was up for tender for rent with the agent."
But when an offer too good to refuse came along, he and his family couldn't turn it down.
The property, which had been costing $100,000 annually while remaining unused, had a recent valuation conducted by the family which put it at $14 million before White’s $23 million offer was made.
"You would be an idiot to walk away [from an offer like that]," he said.
The family restored the theatre in 2014 at a cost of $500,000, aiming to revitalise it. However, plans to reopen the venue stalled after the death of Vlattas’ mother.
"It was her dream to have it start up again as a venue," he said. "Unfortunately, we didn’t get around to it… [and will] need to let someone else do it. We had our chance, we blew it."
An offer of $15 million came in 2018 but was ultimately rejected. The recent sale only became a reality following the sudden death of Vlattas’ brother Chris, who had been responsible for managing the property, in August.
"I didn’t know that they [the new owner] were interested until Chris passed away," Vlattas said.
The Hub Theatre has a storied past. In its heyday, it hosted screenings of foreign films and performances by internationally renowned Greek artists. During the 1970s, the venue gained notoriety for screening pornographic films and staging live sex shows until its closure in the early 1990s.
In recent years, the space has been largely unused, except for occasional vintage markets.
The venue also has a darker history. In December 1971, a bomb made of gelignite detonated in the theatre, destroying five rows of seats. Thankfully, the theatre was empty at the time.
The sale of the Hub Theatre and the neighbouring house was managed by Jake Fahd, commercial director at The Rubinstein Group.
Ben Grubb is the founder and editor of Gay Sydney News, an independent publication covering LGBTQIA+ news. A journalist with more than 15 years' experience, he has reported and edited for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAToday, Brisbane Times, The Australian Financial Review, News.com.au, ZDNet, TelecomTimes and iTnews, primarily on the topic of technology. He previously hosted The Informer, a queer current affairs program on Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 radio station, and contributes to LGBTQIA+ media including Stun Magazine. Ben has also appeared as a technology commentator on Channel Ten's The Project, ABC RN’s Download This Show and commercial radio stations 2UE, 2GB and 6PR. Contact Ben: [email protected]
