Perth Voice Interactive

HAVING been turned down for heritage listing, the rare 1930s Grafton Flats at 49 Ventnor Avenue were demolished this week.

Perth councillor Reece Harley lived in one of the West Perth units for a year and said the doomed building deserved saving.

Despite an independent heritage report extolling its historic virtues, both the WA heritage office and Perth city council last year deemed it not significant enough for listing.

It was, however, noted for its “landmark qualities as an idiosyncratic and picturesque building,” its representation of the flats boom in the inter-war era, and its association with JP Walsh, a prominent businessman who founded Walsh’s Economic Store on Hay Street.

“I was personally sad to see the property demolished,” Cr Harley said. “The apartment held many happy memories for me and reflected a certain style of housing which is now very rare in our city.

“It’s hard to beat the craftsmanship and elegant design of the 1930s and these apartments had all of the original fixings, floorboards, windows, doors and decorative ceilings perfectly intact.

“To know that generations of city residents had lived there before me was a source of immense pride”.

But the new owners opposed municipal heritage listing as they wanted to replace the building with an 88-room hotel.

They told the council “the prudent and feasible approach of Grafton Flats would be to record to archive standard, and demolition”.

If the listing had gone ahead the owner would’ve been eligible for heritage grants, awards, rate concessions, and bonus plot ratio that could have been sold to other projects so developers could whack on a few extra storeys.

Former Grafton Flats owner Luciano Uratoriu owned the place for 37 years before selling last year. He said he was sorry to see the old apartments go, but pleased an older house at the front was retained.

One block away on Walker Avenue, one of the 100-year-old-plus buildings looks like it’ll be protected.

The owner of the 1905 Federation Queen Anne home at number 8 has volunteered his house for protection.

Cr Harley has requested PCC staffers get in touch with other homeowners on the street to better spruik the benefits of heritage listing.

by DAVID BELL