National urban planning company Mecone has given the Western Australian economy a vote of confidence by opening its new Perth office in July.
Mecone founder and Managing Director Ben Hendriks says Mecone is very confident in the WA economy, which shows good potential for growth while capitals on the eastern seaboard ‘come off the boil’.
“Western Australia’s solid handling of COVID will help attract post-pandemic interstate and overseas migration,” he says.
“At the same time WA is continuing to heavily invest in infrastructure and a new wave of mining investment is imminent. The mix of these factors shows the WA economy is primed for growth.”
Mecone’s Perth office is headed by local Ryan Keys, who has led some of Western Australia’s biggest urban development projects while working for the WA State Government. Mr Keys says the state is well poised to capitalise on the ‘green shoots’ sprouting in the state economy.
A population growth rate of 1.1 percent, increased infrastructure spending (up 20 percent over the previous year) and the highest demand for office space in the country over the last 18 months are some of the factors attracting investors west.
Despite the promising economic conditions, easy development sites are increasingly rare in Perth and attention is turning more to complex developments which may be constrained by environmental conditions, existing infrastructure or unsupported by local planning frameworks.
These are scenarios where Mr Keys has vast experience as former Executive Director Planning for the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority and Chief Executive of the East Perth and Subiaco Redevelopment Authorities. During his time working for these agencies, he played key roles in some of Perth’s biggest redevelopments including Elizabeth Quay, Perth City Link and Scarborough Beach.
“A mature city, whether it's Perth, or east coast cities like Sydney or even overseas, have multiple unique destinations. That's what makes a city interesting. Large scale redevelopments such as Elizabeth Quay, Scarborough and Yagan Square are all very different destinations,” he explains.
“In all of them we formed different teams because a city waterfront development needs different skills, ideas, and approaches to a city square or civic space or a beach development.”
In addition, Mr Keys has extensive knowledge of the State’s various planning bodies and systems, which are undergoing major reform. These reforms are a work in a progress, adding further complexity to the current planning environment, meaning Mr Keys’ expertise will come to the fore.
Mecone undertook a review of the NSW planning system for the NSW Productivity Commission in 2019 and part of that was reviewing how planning systems in other states performed. The company is currently lead consultant on the Liverpool CBD expansion project, the land development work for business cases for Sydney’s Metro rail project and facilitated the development of multiple infill developments in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Melbourne.
Mr Hendriks describes Mecone as a boutique urban planning company that prides itself on its ability to develop teams and approaches that create better outcomes for projects. He remains confident Mecone will retain this quality on the national stage with local staff like Mr Keys who understand their area, leading each office.
“What we're about is collaborating with the best people from within and external to our company, to ensure the skill sets that are required to manage these types of projects are available to our clients. It's about choosing the best partners and collaborators from those other companies that suit whatever the project may be.
“Achieving contemporary development outcomes often becomes more complex as proposals challenge the planning limits. It's about facilitating development that achieves fantastic outcomes for both the development industry and the community.”
To make planning more accessible and more efficient, Mecone has expanded its Mosaic online interactive mapping tool to Perth; a free system that gives land zonings, building heights, minimum lot sizes, and density. It can also provide tailored data sets.
Mr Keys says that utilising the Mosaic engine, combined with high-end unique data sets, shortcuts the information gathering process to save time and money, and allowing a focus on data analytics and the outcomes sought by clients.
Importantly the Mecone team also provide the interpretation of this data so people can make best use of it in their investment decisions.
For more information on Mecone’s range of expert services or to explore the Mosaic online tool visit www.mecone.com.au
