Sydney’s theatre scene is to receive a pre-election shot in the arm with approval set to be granted for a second Broadway-style theatre to open at The Star casino.

Owner of the Sydney Lyric and the Capitol Theatre, Stephen Found, has long-standing plans to convert The Star’s 4000-seat event centre into a two-level 1550-seat Proscenium arch theatre, and a 1000-seat live room for contemporary music, comedy and cabaret nights.

A decision by the Independent Planning Commission is imminent after Sydney City Council withdrew its objections to the proposal in December.

Modifications have been made to the theatre complex’s bulk and form to the outer shell including the fly tower, which stores multiple backdrops and props and allows for seamless set changes in a show, reducing its visual impact on surrounding residential apartments.

The proposed two-theatre complex is to be built largely within the shell of the event centre which currently caters for conferences, awards nights, trade shows, concerts and gala events and is located on the opposite end of the casino to the Sydney Lyric theatre.

The stage of the Broadway-style theatre would be of comparable size to the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, where Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is coming to the end of its record-breaking three-year run, and Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide.

Once built, the two theatres would add to Foundation Theatre’s portfolio of independent theatres – the Sydney Lyric, also at the Casino, and Capitol Theatre – cementing Found’s place as the city’s largest theatre owner.

And they would diversify the casino’s entertainment offerings, coming as The Star Entertainment Group posted a net loss after tax of $1.3 billion over the December half, after copping adverse findings by two state inquiries, and the loss of its coveted casino licences.