Development WA has lodged a development application for a $100 million, 29-storey, mixed-use building in Boorloo/Perth, comprising 219 build-to-rent dwellings.
A previous housing scheme, designed by Klopper and Davis Architects, was proposed for the 3,099-square-metre site at 195 Pier Street, in 2019. Although development approval for the build-to-sell project was granted that same year, the current application is for a build-to-rent development instead.
The new proposal, designed by Hassell and Plan E Landscape Architects, would see the supply of mixed housing options, including 30 percent available for social housing tenants selected from the state government’s social housing waitlist, 20 percent would be made available to affordable housing tenants, and the other 50 percent would operate as market rate build-to-rent dwellings. Ten of 219 residences would be dedicated to specialist disability accommodation.
The design team have adopted a “blind tenure model” in designing the apartments, meaning that every apartment has been designed to the same specifications and finishes. This design strategy abolishes overt physical differences between housing types, in a move that seeks to eliminate potential stigma against social housing tenants on low incomes.
The building features a landscaped podium on level seven and an activated ground level.
Image: Hassell Architects and Plan E Landscape Architects
The building will feature a landscaped podium on level seven, containing several communal offerings, such as a shared kitchen, workshop, laundry and outdoor area. An activated ground floor has also been proposed with a commercial tenancy, a cafe and a co-working space.
Hassell’s design report states the facade of the building has been designed to reference the precinct’s connection to print media as Pier Street was once the home of the Government Print Hall, and the nearby Stirling Street is where many esteemed newspapers such as The West Australian, The Sunday Times and The Australian, were printed.
“The tower form conceptually represents the printed media output part of the process and is therefore inextricably linked to the podium. The narrower east and west elevations are conceived as book or newspaper covers, complete with spine and paragraphs of text that run up the entire height of the tower,” the design report states.
“The transition into the broader north and south elevations is reinforced by the guilded page edges, which are expressed as vertical gold fins that are dense at the corners and increasingly spaced apart towards the centre of the main elevations. The north and south elevations are therefore conceived as pages between the covers and reveal the lives and stories of residents.”
In November 2019, the Western Australian Planning Commission granted approval to subdivide the land into two lots, with the approval valid until 4 November 2024. If the current application is approved, plans state the development will occur in two stages. The initial stage will concentrate on the proposed build-to-rent development on the northern block, which covers an area of 1,841 square metres. The remaining 1,258 square metre southern block will be allocated for future development.
The development application is on public exhibition until 5 February 2024. A decision regarding the development is anticipated to be announced in March 2024. If approved, construction will commence in mid-2024, with the project expected to be complete in 2026.
