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.
Woden Plaza was opened on 18 September 1972 by the
Prime Minister of Australia,
William McMahon.
Revitalisation 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 & Aged Care. 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
Department of Health & Aged Care offices, was closed down and left vacant in 2010. The conversion of the building resulted in the withdrawal of 8,500 square metres of space from the ACT property market. In 2013, a new bus layover was proposed at the locations of Phillip Oval and the corner of Launceston and Callam Street. This is to improve the flow and efficiency of transportation in the town centre. "Block 13" mentioned in this plan is a desirable site for a new bus layover in the Woden Town Centre. The Woden Town Centre revamp is similar to what happened with the redevelopment at the
Belconnen Town Centre, which the redevelopment there resulted in significant urban design improvements. A redevelopment on the
Woden Interchange had been considered since 2004, where plans introduced Westfield Woden's development team and its co-owners proposals to upgrade. In 2014, work has been confirmed to begin as early as September, where the former police station next to the interchange is expected to be demolished to make way for new redevelopment. The redevelopment also includes demolishing the existing interchange in replacement for a new building. However, department store chain,
Myer has stated they will not have an outlet located in Woden, resulting in some doubts of revitalisation. Woden Interchange closed in January 2023 and was demolished with a new
Canberra Institute of Technology campus being built on the site. A new bus interchange is being built with provision for an extension of the
light rail. ==Geology and location==