Sentinel Fund Manager Australia has received development approval for its 24-storey mixed-use project on the corner of West Coast Highway and Manning Street in Scarborough.
Sentinel Fund Manager Australia has received development approval for its 24-storey mixed-use project on the corner of West Coast Highway and Manning Street in Scarborough.
Sentinel Fund Manager Australia (Sentinel) is the Australian arm of American development and investment firm Sentinel Real Estate.
The group plans to develop a 17,221 square-metre-mixed-use development at 194 West Coast Highway, featuring a single 21-storey build-to-rent tower on top of a three-storey mixed-use podium.
Under the build-to-rent model (as opposed to the build-to-sell process, most used by apartment developers in Western Australia), Sentinel will develop, lease and manage the 175 apartments.
The development will also feature four commercial tenancies across the three podium levels, 230 bike parking bays, 215 car parking spaces and end-of-trip facilities.
Sentinel Real Estate president Michael Streicker said the group planned to revitalise the public realm surrounding the site, providing new community amenities.
That includes a new plaza, a café fronting a new community park planned along Manning and Filburn Streets and a bicycle repair station.
The building is also targeting a 5 Star Green Star rating, with sustainability initiatives including rainwater harvesting for onsite irrigation, drought resistant and low water use plantings and onsite solar energy generation.
“The local housing market in Perth is evolving and based on our more than 50 years of global expertise, we know our Build to Rent model can deliver quality housing for more Western Australians,” Mr Streicker said.
The development approval comes at a time when the state is experiencing a record-low of rental stock, with the residential rental vacancy rate hovering around the one per cent mark in recent months.
The approval was granted by state government agency DevelopmentWA, which has responsibility for the parcel of land adjacent to Scarborough Beach.
It followed an assessment by DevelopmentWA's Scarborough Land Redevelopment Committee (SLRC), which is chaired by architect Kylee Schoonens and has several members including former government architect Geoffrey London.
Land Redevelopment Committees are etablished for significant state urban renewal projects.
According to a report prepared by the SLRC, Sentinel’s project was advertised for public comment with 177 public submissions received, 20 of those in support and 157 opposing the development.
Of those submissions objecting to the project, the main issues included concerns with height being inconsistent with the context and character of the area, potential overshadowing and the addition of traffic to an already congested movement network.
Now that DevelopmentWA has approved the proposal, Sentinel expects to start construction of the 24-storey mixed-use development later this year.
The Scarborough project will be Sentinel’s second build-to-rent project in Western Australia.
Late last year the group received development approval for Lot 204, the third and final phase of its Element 27 build-to-rent project in Subiaco, which has been operational and tenanted since early 2019.
The group has another build-to-rent project under way in West Melbourne.
Sentinel has also announced two major appointments to its Australian team; the group’s in-house architect, Keith Lucas, has been promoted to managing director and Georgina Duckworth has been appointed director of client services and marketing for Australia and New Zealand.
