CONSTRUCTION of Cedar Wood’s $18 million Aria Luxury Apartments will get under way next month, marking the first in a number of apartment developments slated for Rockingham’s beachfront.
CONSTRUCTION of Cedar Wood’s $18 million Aria Luxury Apartments will get under way next month, marking the first in a number of apartment developments slated for Rockingham’s beachfront.
The apartment complex – the first of its kind in Rockingham – will feature eight floors of one, two and three-bedroom residences and four penthouses.
The project’s marketing manager, Michael Glendinning, said 26 of the 32 apartments available had been pre-sold, with construction on the Aria Apartments scheduled for completion in late 2004.
Riding on the success of the Aria Apartments, Cedar Woods secured a second development site on the Rockingham beachfront when it bought the Rockingham Plaza site last year.
The development company has recently received development approval to construct a 10-storey apartment tower on the site, housing 62 apartments. Cedar Woods plans to commence marketing this second development – named Nautilus Apartments – in December.
Mr Glendinning said the Rockingham beach was popular for apartment dwellers because it was north facing, providing abundant natural light and protection from the prevailing south-west wind.
Rockingham’s urban renewal has been a long time coming, however. Long overlooked, the region’s unique coastal position has now been recognised and developers have been quick to get involved.
Other developments planned for the area include the Errichetti family’s 12-storey restaurant and tavern Ramada development, which also includes 88 short-stay apart-ments and 34 residential apartments.
Another to invest heavily in the region is health care millionaire Michael Boyd, who is behind the Horizon development, which comprises a restaurant, 32 multiple dwellings and 32 short-stay apartments.
A local syndicate is bankrolling the Sails development of two restaurants and 24 apartments.
The State Government is also playing a hand in the transformation of the coastal city with Landcorp’s Rockingham Waterfront Village project. The project involves developing the underused Rockingham Oval and 16 hectares of surrounding Crown land into 150 residential blocks.
Rockingham City Council director of planning Robert Jeans said the Rockingham beachfront had begun to attract the interest of high-rise developers in the past 18 months.
The developers’ focus on Rockingham was due recognition of the city’s natural attributes, he said, and both council and the community supported high-rise developments along the city’s beachfront for the economic development it would bring to the region.
“When the 12-storey Ramada development was approved, the 10 councillors supported it unanimously,” Mr Jeans said.
When approved 18 months ago, the Ramada development was the first high-rise development for the region. Since then the Rockingham City Council has experienced an influx of high-rise applications, so much so that the council undertook an extensive study of the Rockingham beach precinct.
The study resulted in the Rockingham council adopting a recommended model of development in the Rockingham beach precinct three months ago. The model caps the height limit of high-rise buildings at 31 metres, or 10 storeys, and requires development heights be staggered down to street level.
“What we have got is a series of graduated height limits to prevent issues of overlooking, overshadowing and to retain human scale at street level,” Mr Jeans said.
Only multi purpose commercial uses are permitted at ground level so as to encourage an active street frontage.
