Perth Voice Interactive

THE lure of development bonuses to get more people living in Perth’s CBD will see the repurposing of a private carpark just up the road from Royal Perth Hospital into swish apartments and offices.

Big financier Perpetual owns the carpark through one of its trusts, and has submitted a development application to build one- and two-bedroom apartments on its four upper floors, then add a 12-storey office tower on top.

Residents in the lower floors will share their space with parking for office workers, the next couple of levels will have residential parking, while the ground floor will have a covered public space for mingling, retail shops and a residential lobby.

Perpetual’s designers Element Advisory said the apartments were designed to incorporate the carpark’s existing columns and roofbeams into their internal layout.

“The facade of the carpark structure is proposed to be largely retained, with architectural inserts proposed that complement its robust aesthetic and are reflective of its new use,” Element’s report to the Perth Local Development Assessment Panel said.

The developer applied for the maximum 20 per cent density bonus for providing new apartments in the CBD, after satisfying the panel efforts were made to protect residents from the hustle and bustle of the commercial activities.

Perth council’s planners were also happy to support the bonus because it stopped the concentration of new residential areas in DevelopmentWA’s City Link and Elizabeth Quay precincts.

Distributing developments further across the CBD “will ensure sufficient population for services and facilities outside office hours and will provide greater economic support for local businesses, especially at night and on weekends, and help the city become more self-sustaining and resilient”, the planners noted in a report for the panel.

Element had to have a couple of cracks at earning another 20 per cent density bonus for providing a public space, with the City’s design advisory panel finding the first iterations weren’t sunny enough, didn’t address anti-social behaviour and might not be comfortable for users.

The panel had to grant the developers some discretions for some additional height and reduced setbacks, but none of the neighbours objected and only one submission was lodged which generally supported the concept.

The City’s planners said the development could set a “benchmark” for reusing multi-storey carparks.

“The proposed reuse of the existing building will inject vitality and life into a podium streetscape that is currently inactive and unoccupied,” they noted.

by STEVE GRANT