The new plans by architects Whitehaus add four storeys.

THE Leederville town centre is set to have a new biggest building with the approval of 12-storey apartments on Leederville that are double the height of any existing builds. 

The block at 200 Carr Place was originally going to host the triple-building, eight-storey, 52-unit “Locale” project by owner Hanrise (“Locale on the up,” Voice, February 18, 2023).

That version won approval in 2020 and the estimated cost at the time was $17 million. 

About half the apartments sold on pre-sale, but the project never got started.

“Unfortunately, the project was unable to proceed due to high construction costs,” according to the owner’s hired planner, Trent Will from Taylor Burrell Barnett, in a missive sent to the Development Assessment Panel.

The re-design’s sought to get more yield out of the site with an eye to Vincent council’s long-term draft plans to let more height into Leederville.

Currently the height limit in Leederville is four storeys, but in September 2021 Vincent councillors gave a preliminary thumbs-up to a draft Leederville Precinct Structure Plan which would allow 10 storeys, or 14 if the building offers some extra benefits like energy efficiency, extra greenery, public areas or infrastructure improvement.

In this case Hanrise is hoping for 12 storeys on the back of energy efficiency, extra trees and landscaping, and a community space with a pocket park to one side and a community garden out front. 

The re-design fits in 76 units and is estimated to cost $35m. 

Some locals are unhappy with the project and want to stick to the current limits for Leederville. Of 20 submissions from people living within 200 metres, more than half objected, a couple supported, and a couple had “concerns”.

Resident Jelena May told the May 8 meeting the project would overshadow neighbours and with its extra traffic the triple towers were a bad fit for Carr Place: she said it’s a small dead-end street with only one messy exit that’s already tricky for pedestrians and cyclists, and it’d struggle with the extra traffic. But Vincent planning staff recommended approval based on the council’s future vision for the area, and the DAP members unanimously voted for approval.

The biggest existing nearby building is six storeys. Further out on the edges of Leederville, plans have been approved for an upcoming 25 storey building on the old Watercorp site.