PLANS for two towers at Leederville’s 40 Frame Court block have been released with one stretching 25 storeys and the other 17, hosting 273 units including a new breed of 87 tiny “co-living” apartments built around communal areas. 

The plans are a long time in the making with Vincent council paving the way for the project by changing its planning rules in October 2021 to allow the site’s owner EG Funds Management to build to this scale. 

Previous limits here were five storeys but the council’s long regarded those as outdated, and has been keen on more height to get plenty of people into Leederville and keep the town centre lively. 

The apartments will sit atop an art gallery, some communal spaces, and five commercial tenancies.

An unusual feature is the 87 “co-living” apartments, with some levels set aside for 16 to 18 of the tiny units measuring 28sqm – 49sqm. 

The owner is building these apartments to rent, rather than sell, and the micro habitats have a studio bedroom and basic kitchen and a small bathroom, and then have communal lounge and dining areas, shared laundries, bigger kitchens, and outdoor spaces.

The development application says “the provision of co-living and one-bedroom apartments directly relates to the provision of affordable and diverse housing” and is “consistent with the desire for a range of dwellings” outlined in Vincent’s planning strategy for the area.

A prototype co-living project The Switch opened at 555 Wellington Street in Perth this year attracting students and young renters trying to survive amid a housing shortage that made having a whole place to themselves out of reach. 

The plans are out for public comment via imagine.vincent.wa.gov.au (under the development applications section) until September 7, then they’ll be voted on by the joint Vincent council/state government Development Assessment Panel. 

by DAVID BELL