After five months of divided public opinion on the proposed $200 million Victoria Quay redevelopment on Fremantle harbour, developer ING Real Estate and architect Cox Howlett and Bailey Woodland have gone back to the drawing board.
After five months of divided public opinion on the proposed $200 million Victoria Quay redevelopment on Fremantle harbour, developer ING Real Estate and architect Cox Howlett and Bailey Woodland have gone back to the drawing board to reduce the project’s height and scale.
ING met last week with key stakeholders, including Fremantle Ports and Fremantle Council, and proposed two alternatives for the commercial, office and retail development.
The changes follow a meeting last month convened by the federal and state members for Fremantle, Carmen Lawrence and Jim McGinty respectively, and Fremantle Mayor Peter Tagliaferri, aiming to reduce the eight-storey height component of the plan and open up more view corridors by redistributing floor space over the precinct.
The original two schemes featured up to 25,000 square metres of office space atop 12,000sq m of retail and restaurant space at ground level.
ING chief executive Greg Boyd told WA Business News the firm had taken on board much of the public feedback and would create a more acceptable design prior to lodging a development application.
“That’s part of the charm of Fremantle; there’s a diverse range of opinions. I’m sure the general public will respect the process we’ve taken in going down this route,” Mr Boyd said.
Of the latest designs, Scheme C incorporates two six-storey buildings with a wide central viewing corridor, facilitated by the removal of the original eight-storey building component, a key feature of previous proposals.
A large part of the plan also contains substantial space for single-storey development.
Scheme D features three five-storey buildings that improve view corridors between the city and harbour while retaining the central building.
If this building were removed, the office floor space would essentially be reduced from 25,000sq m to about 13,000sq m.
Mr Boyd said the viability of the project was still a major consideration as the architects worked through the changes.
Fremantle Ports chief executive Kerry Sanderson said it was important the project remained viable and that all concerns were addressed before the development approval stage.
It was important the three working shipping berths were compatible with the Victoria Quay commercial precinct, she said.
Mr Tagliaferri said reducing the office space available at Victoria Quay, in spite of the current tight office market, was not likely to affect the future availability of premium office space in Fremantle, as council was looking at other possibilities.
He said the city currently was in discussions with potential tenants for a four-storey office building planned for development on Henderson Street, as part of the civic area redevelopment project.
Mr Boyd said he hoped a development application for Victoria Quay could be submitted soon, with final approval resting with Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan.
