City approves $140m CBD towers

Revised plans for two new towers at the old Emu Brewery site in Perth have officially been given the green light, following the City of Perth Local Development Assessment Panel’s recommendation for approval by absolute majority last week.

Plans for the two towers, adjacent to Woodside Petroleum’s headquarters at Capital Square, were lodged by Malaysian property developer Victor Goh last year, via his company AAIG.

The approved proposal, which is subject to 16 conditions and valued at $140 million, plans for the construction of an 18-storey tower and a 32-storey tower comprising office, hotel and restaurant uses, as well as an art gallery and public realm spaces.    

Original plans for the towers were knocked back after the City of Perth’s design advisory committee criticised the design, with one reason being that it was not being similar or different enough to “create a meaningful composition”.

Neighbouring tenant Woodside also opposed the initial proposal, last year seeking a Supreme Court injunction to force a redesign of the towers.

Initial plans for a 34-storey hotel and serviced apartment building have been replaced with an 18-storey office tower, while the original 42-storey residential complex will now be a 32-storey mixed-use building with dining and community facilities.

Conditions for construction approval include amendments to landscaping to create “greater pedestrian comfort and amenity within the plaza areas of the two towers”, as well as an acoustics report, a hotel management and a waste management plan, among others.

Speculation has been mounting that AAIG had secured a commitment from international oil and gas giant ConocoPhillips as an anchor tenant for the office component.

There have also been suggestions BDO could occupy the new office space, although a BDO spokesperson told Business News the company had “not signed anything at this point” and that it was “an option at this point”.

The site was formerly occupied by the Emu Brewery, which was demolished in 1993. The land left vacant until the Mia Yellagonga Woodside Office and podium buildings were erected as part of stage one of the Capital Square project.