FREO COUNCIL EXTENDS KINGS SQUARE CONTRACT

As expected the contract for the Kings Square Project development between the City of Fremantle and Sirona Capital was extended for six months this evening by full council with only Councillor Jeff MacDonald voting against it.

There  were public questions about the process and the valuation of buildings with one speaker saying it was just pie in the sky that would never happen.

I was very impressed with the very professional and very factual speech by Councillor Dave Cogging who explained that Council has had this vision for Kings Square and worked through the extensive process for six years. “We did investigate all the options, we did ask all the questions and we did get comprehensive legal advise.”

Cr Coggin also said they looked at Sirona’s book to make sure they had a partner capable to pull off such a big project and that Council focussed on getting the best outcome for Fremantle. “We had independent legal and financial advise and independent valuations.”

Councillor Andrew Sullivan spoke at length about how the City had come to the vision for activating Kings Square and that three major studies have been done in the last twenty years. “It is one of the core elements of our transformational moves to reactivate Kings Square.”

He said Council has got the right combination after all the hard work they had done on Kings Square for six years and leaving it as it is is no solution. “This is the right urban design outcome.”

Councillor Sam Wainwright rightly pointed out that the decision of extending the contract by six months or not was not pushing the reset button and start the process all over again. He also said the claims of corruption and a WA Inc. style process was a scare campaign not based on facts.

Matthew McNeilly, the managing director of Sirona Capital spoke passionately about what the Kings Square project will do and the economic benefits it will bring to Fremantle and Western Australia, and said he too was disappointed the State Government process has taken so long to decide if a department will be relocated to Fremantle.

He said it would be a $ 220 million investment by Sirona, would create 1,100 construction jobs, bring 1,500 new office workers and 500 new retail staff into the CBD and would attract 2,500 shoppers per day to the Kings Square precinct.

There will be $ 1,5 million worth of public art installations and a state government office of 20,000 square metres. “This project is sound in logic and principle.” McNeilly said.

CEO Graeme McKenzie mentioned that the Finance department will tomorrow present their findings to the government an that a decision is expected by August, so only a few more sleeps hopefully until this exciting project can get started.

I thought Councillors were very respectful to the process tonight and acknowledged the importance of the public debate about the project, but they were adamant they had done their home work and made the right decisions.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE NEEDS MORE STUDENT HOUSING

A report by Knight Frank identifies that there is a shortfall of well over 23,000 Purpose Built Student Accommodation-PBSA in Perth and a staggering near 300,000 shortfall in Australia.

I have long advocated for more student housing in Fremantle for Notre Dame University students and for those at Murdoch and Curtin, as long as the accommodation is built near public transport nodes.

With an oversupply of residential apartments it might now be the time for developers to start thinking about student accommodation and for governments to support it by offering land at reduced prices.

In Fremantle it would be an economic investment to support our traders and the hospitality industry as thousands of students living here would shop and consume here and eat and drink at our cafes and restaurants.  And they would bring that great youthful vibrancy to the city.

Roel Loopers

A KINGS SQUARE COMPROMISE?

This evening Fremantle Council will decide if it wants to extend the Kings Square Project contract between the City of Fremantle and Sirona Capital and I wonder if it would be an acceptable compromise to extend it if both parties agree to make public the entire contract and Leedwell consultants business case, if the Department of Housing signs a lease to move there. Commercial confidentiality would surely no longer apply once the deal is done, as a third party could no longer benefit from the information. When the contract is signed total transparency could occur.

It is also likely that the Department of Finance, which will make the decision where Housing will be relocated to, would want to scrutinise the project’s contract details to make sure they don’t sign up for something that is dodgy and that might end up in court, as community groups threaten to do.

For me the project is too important for Fremantle’s recovery to stop it now because it would take a very long time to renegotiate a new contract with Sirona, as some suggest, and the company might not be interested in doing that. It would take forever to start from scratch and come up with new plans for the civic square, after extensive community consultation for the current plans.

Stopping now would mean we lost three years, while there is a real 50 per cent chance of Housing moving to Kings Square. Premier Colin Barnett has said the government is only considering two locations in Fremantle, one of them Kings Square.

Roel Loopers

FREO TYRE SLASHERS SHAMED BY COMMUNITY SPIRIT!

 

The good old Freo spirit is alive and well and what a greet feeling it is to know one lives in a community that cares!

People are offering to help those whose tyres got slashed by idiots during the ANZAC Day long weekend. There are offers to come by with a jack and help change tyres and the outstanding offer by Fremantle Auto Electric who is donating second hand tyres with good tread, as long as you can get them put on somewhere, or can do it yourself.

Most people in the world are good people, no matter what their culture, race or religion is and this is yet another example of it. Thank you to all the big-hearted and caring people!

Roel Loopers

 

ENERGY MUSEUM M/27 APARTMENTS FOR SALE

 

The M/27 residential apartment and commercial heritage development of the former Energy Museum at Parry Street is now open to start selling apartments, so if you want to live the Freo lifestyle close to Clancy’s, the tennis and bowling clubs and the St Patrick’s Basilica, check out the website: http://www.m27apartments.com

Forty boutique apartments will be built starting from $ 450.000.

The development will be done by the MATCH group who are at present developing Heirloom, the former Dalgety Woolstores site just around the corner at Queen Victoria Street.

It is exciting to see so much development in the east of the CBD that has been floundering for far too many years.

Roel Loopers

and for the cynics among my readers, this is not an advertorial and I don’t get a cent paid to publish this and I also have not been promised a free apartment, or one at a reduced price. I simply like to support what goes on in Freo.

RIDING ON FOOTPATH LEGALISED

Cyclists of all ages will be allowed to ride on footpaths from today and Police Minister Lisa Harvey believes that is just common sense.

I sincerely hope Fremantle cyclists will show common sense because it could create mayhem on busy weekend days when the footpaths are packed full with pedestrians.

There is no speed limit when riding on the footpaths, and who would check that anyway, so give way to pedestrians, parents with prams, etc. and ring your bell!

Roel Loopers

PORT OF ROTTERDAM WANTS FREMANTLE PORT

Painterly port pic of cranes in the rain by Roel Loopers

 

The Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, is considering buying Fremantle Port a report in maritime publication Street Talk claims.

The Dutch port authority has contracted the Melbourne corporate advisers Lighthouse Infrastructure to assist with its bid for the 50-year lease for the Freo port.

The Port of Rotterdam believes it can grab a bigger share of the global shipping movement in Fremantle, the magazine report says, but it would have to team up with other companies for the bid.

The Rotterdam port is owned by the Dutch government.

Roel Loopers

MORE AND MORE TYRES SLASHED IN FREMANTLE

 

 

Facebook participant Angela Rooney has done a bit of research on where car tyres got slashed or spiked in Fremantle over this ANZAC Day long weekend.

I became a victim myself with the two left tyres of my old bomb spiked, one I only bought three weeks ago, and next door’s B&B guest also got two tyres of his ute spiked.

Here is Angela Rooney’s list of where the vandals went berserk:

Sat/Sun (Saturday night, 23rd April – Sunday morning, 24th April)
– Alma Street (South Terrace end)
– Brennan St.
– Little Howard St.
– Stevens St. (west end to Attfield St.)
– Attfield St.
– Gold St. (one car, near the t-junction to Attfield St)
– Chester St.
Sun/Mon (Sunday night, 24 April – Monday morning, 25 April)
– Swanbourne St.
– Bolton Pl.
– Solomon St.
– Stevens St.
– Samson St.
– McCleery St.
– Maxwell St.
– Rockingham Rd.
Missed any? Unbelievable.
The Police reference CAD 275528.
Police telephone number 131 444.

 

FREMANTLE WET ANZAC DAY PARADE

 

It was very wet during this year’s Fremantle ANZAC Day parade and that kept people at home unfortunately. But for the not so faint hearted it was a special spectacle everyone enjoyed.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE ANZAC DAWN SERVICE PHOTOS

 

It was full house at Fremantle’s Monument Hill for the ANZAC Day dawn service this morning and the rain stayed away for this very solemn event.

Great to see so many families with very young children, and teenagers, young lovers and many oldies.

I went to the North Fremantle ceremony for the first time and the rain started coming in then.

The next blog post will show photos of the pretty wet parade through town.

Roel Loopers