Arncliffe: St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church reveals plans for Cornerstone College

Plans for a college with 175 theology students, a library and cafe are planned for worshippers in Sydney’s south, where they belong to one of the largest Coptic communities outside Egypt.

The Wollongong Rd entry for Cornerstone College.

The vast St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church community is expanding with a tertiary institution, cafe and library.

Plans are part of a development to reshape the centre of Arncliffe but leaders say it will keep in character with the neighbourhood.

The church has acquired eight lots at Station St and Wollongong Rd where all except the heritage-listed property on 78 Wollongong Rd, will be demolished to deliver the three-storey development for 175 students and 20 staff.

There will be also be a basement carpark for 50 vehicles, a two-storey library with a theatre, lectures halls, a bakery, and internal courtyard under the development which the state government’s Planning Department will ultimately determine.

The church council parish secretary Minna Hanna said the church rejected a state government proposal to develop a 10-storey building on its site, close to the train station.

“From a church point of view and a community point of view … it’s a bit of an eyesore and it’s taking away from the character of the area,’’ he said.

“It wasn’t designed to stand out, it wasn’t designed to upset neighbours.’’

Cornerstone College’s secondary entry.

The townhouse-like facade was designed to blend with the streetscape.

“The architects studied the streetscape and they tried to design a frontage that resembled properties so it didn’t stand out,’’ Mr Hanna said.

“They didn’t want it to look like a commercial building.’’

He said part of the development was designed with a curved shape as an acoustic measure and to address backlash from neighbours who have slammed worshippers for hosting parties, foul language and an “illegal” expansion.

The church has been part of the community since 1978. Picture: Google Maps

In 2022, more than 200 residents living near the church lodged a petition with Bayside Council after they claimed members of the parish failed to comply with a development application and worshippers had caused “unbearable noise” from large gatherings and parties.

Mr Hanna said it was working with the council and the community to address that with measures such as curfews.

“There’s always a bit of tension with the neighbours but we wanted to stay in the community for a long time,’’ he said.

“We love the Arncliffe community.’’

Artist's impressions for Cornerstone College, a proposal by St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church at Arncliffe.

He said the development was focused on future generations at St Mark’s Coptic Church,

which “is probably one of the biggest Coptic Churches outside of Egypt” with a large youth base.

Mr Hanna said the college was open to anyone interested in the Christian faith and would cover Coptic history, language and theology.

A statement of environmental effects endorsed the project as “worthy of council approval” and noted it complied with design guidelines.

If approved, Mr Hanna said construction would begin within 12 months of the development application and would take up to 24 months to complete building the college.

The Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel is assessing the project.

Originally published as Arncliffe: St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church reveals plans for Cornerstone College