The state’s peak planning body has given property developer Saracen the green light to pursue a $24 million refurbishment of East Fremantle’s 120-year-old Royal George Hotel and build a nine-storey apartment beside it.
The classical style brick and limestone heritage building on the corner of Duke Street has been hidden by scaffolding for almost a year as work gets underway on the restoration of the building and the verandah.
The hotel, which was saved from demolition in the 1980s by local lobby groups, had been sitting derelict since 2009 before being sold by the state government to Saracen Properties in 2017.
In May, Saracen unveiled plans to refurbish the building, establishing a food and beverage production area, cellar door, a bar, restaurant and 10 restored hotel rooms.
It also proposed the construction of a nine-storey building comprising 23 residential apartments and an office space on Duke Street, lodging a development application with the state’s expedited COVID-19 planning pathway.
Fremantle-based architectural firm spaceagency, which spearheaded the concept design, proposed the building be a modern contrast to the heritage hotel, with recessed balconies and fold back to maintain views of the cupola from the north and west.
The development is less than half the size of the 21-storey tower previously proposed after the company purchased the land back in 2017.
During a meeting this afternoon, the WA Planning Commission voted to approve the development application, as had been recommended by the State Development Assessment Unit.
The approval was subject to a suite of conditions, including those suggested by the state’s heritage council.
The development, which is required to substantially begin within the next 18 months, is expected to create more than 70 construction jobs and 40 ongoing jobs from the hotel operation.
But the proposal drew the ire of some sections of the community, with some raising concerns about inadequate parking, the height of the apartment and its design being "out of character" with the rest of the heritage precinct.
During the public consultation process, 238 public submissions were received; almost 40 per cent of which objected to the proposed development.
