“[It] provides a general sense of ground zero … that this is where the activity is.”
The panel asked whether this was a character the city was comfortable with.
“Is that the sort of city we want to proceed with? Or is this specific to this area and doesn’t [have implications for] anywhere else?” one expert member asked.
“Yes it’s a change, yes they’re big signs, but it’s commensurate with other cities,” a City of Perth representative said.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the city to allow more and more of these types of signs and many have been rejected.
“We have been more lenient with these types of signs in the Northbridge area … but they’re not at the same scale.”
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Another City representative noted that city policy did identify areas such as Northbridge and the Murray Street Mall as more appropriate for digital signage rather than Hay Street Mall with its more heritage character.
Other elements of the project were less contentious, with the panel applauding its design as skilful and elegant.
Expert panellist John Symes said it would give the city “a new street” as a counterpoint to the long malls.
He added wryly that he hoped the required community advertising would not happen at 3am.
The city’s design review panel described the design as elegant and the pedestrian walkways as generous.
Staff considered the mix of land uses (student accommodation, retail, dining and hotel) appropriate and concluded the development could inject significant activity and life into the centre of Perth.
“The multi-level retail and dining is a positive contemporary refresh for the site and will provide greater interest for pedestrians,” they said.
“Hotel and student accommodation will also greatly improve activity within the city centre … and will [provide] active and passive surveillance across different times of the day,” they said.
The Student Accommodation Council executive director Torie Brown welcomed the approval, saying Perth historically had the lowest amount of dedicated student accommodation beds in the country with 27 tertiary students to every student bed.
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“New purpose-built student accommodation developments add much-needed student housing to the city,” she said.
“Perth is a fantastic destination for international students, but availability of appropriate rental stock has previously been a handbrake on growing the education sector.
“The private sector has recognised the opportunity that Perth presents for developing high-quality, bespoke, student-only beds, with a number of exciting developments now in the pipeline.”
Further conditions include the development having at least 185 bicycle parking bays, commercial end of trip facilities and a bicycle share scheme for students.
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