LARGE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT AT BURT STREET

 

There is finally some movement on the long awaited development at Fremantle’s Burt Street, just up from the Fremantle Arts Centre.

The State Government has partnered with Edge Visionary Living in the $ 129 million project to build 265 residential apartments, some commercial spaces and six live-work artist’s studios.

There will be mainly two-bedroom or smaller apartments, with some premium three-bedroom ones, and some ‘compact studios’.

10-15 per cent of the apartments will be reserved for social housing.

The development will include six unique live-work artist rental studios and a maker space to inspire creative pursuits and help emerging artists to access affordable accommodation and workspace within the Fremantle area.

Local community input will inform the creation of amenities to complement the surrounding area including social gathering areas, active play zones, outdoor arts engagement, green spaces, walking and cycling pathways and a small portion of space for commercial uses.

The project will also explore ways to implement sustainable initiatives that can help reduce waste, and also reduce water and energy use.

The 1.4-hectare site will be developed in stages. Following a period of community consultation and development approvals, the first stage of works is expected to start in October 2021.

Roel Loopers

HOW DO WE DEFINE VERY FREO?

 

 

Quite a few people criticising the new Woolstores plans on social media say it is not very Fremantle, so when are we going to define what very Fremantle is, and who is going to make that judgment?

Is modern and daring architecture not very Freo? Is anything taller than five storeys not very Freo? Is mock heritage very Freo? What is very Freo when it comes to new and existing buildings?

We can all and always argue about taste because we all have a different opinion about what beauty is, but what makes a building very Freo?

A well-known Cottesloe architect said on Facebook some weeks ago that the architects who designed the Kings Square buildings did not get the Fremantle context, so what is the Fremantle context when we talk about architecture, and how can the state make planning rules, so that our Council and state agencies such as JDAP and SAT understand what very Freo development should be?

Roel Loopers

 

AUSTRALIAN FIRST! SAFE SUBBIES’ PAYMENT FOR FREMANTLE CIVIC CENTRE

 

 

Subcontractors working on the City of Fremantle’s new civic centre and library in Kings Square will be guaranteed payment thanks to the inclusion of a Project Bank Account (PBA) as part of the construction contract.

Last month the City of Fremantle and Pindan Constructions signed the contract to build the $41.3 million project.

Director of City Business Glen Dougall said the establishment of a PBA for the project was a key condition of the contract.

“We are the first local government in WA, and possibly Australia, to include the requirement for a Project Bank Account on a project like this,” Mr Dougall said.

“The PBA will guarantee subcontractors are paid within one day of the head contractor being paid, and that the head contractor can only take their portion once they have paid the subbies.

“We’re confident Pindan is in robust financial health and will meet all of its obligations, but this will ensure the local subcontractors employed on the project are safe from any potential cash flow problems and can feel more secure and confident in employing and paying their staff and suppliers.

“The PBA will improve the speed of payment for subcontractors, increase transparency in the payment process and reduce the financial stress on the subbies, their employees, suppliers and families.”

The WA government is set to expand the use of PBA’s on state government projects from 1 July this year.

The City of Fremantle’s new civic centre is an integral part of the broader $270 million Kings Square Renewal project – a joint initiative between the City and Sirona Capital.

Roel Loopers

 

 

BETTER URBAN INFILL VERY IMPORTANT

 

WA Planning Minister Rita Saffioti has released stage one of DESIGN WA, the guidelines to improve the quality of urban infill.

One of the most heard complaints in Fremantle and all over the suburbs is the mediocre design of most of the new residential apartment and other buildings in our character cities, but planning rules and even design advisory panels have had little impact on improving the architecture and streetscapes, this will hopefully now improve, depending on how strict and strong the new policy can be enforced by local councils, JDAP, SAT and the WAPC.

Rita Saffioti’s statements says:

Design WA includes clearly defined objectives about what future developments should consider, and includes it in the revised Residential Design Codes. Objectives include:

• Appropriate scale to respect the local character and context;
• Minimum apartment sizes based on floor space and number of rooms;
• Safe, healthy environments with good natural light and ventilation;
• Development that creates walkable neighbourhoods with high amenity;
• Green space such as shady trees for outdoor spaces and mature tree retention; and
• Development that enhances local neighbourhoods. 

The policy will come into affect soon, on May 24, 2019, so that is a good thing.

One thing I have been wondering about is why urban infill and medium/high density buildings are demanded in older suburbs by the State Government but not in brand-new suburbs which are developed near public transport corridors. That makes no sense to me.

Roel Loopers

FREO KINGS SQUARE REDEVELOPMENT UPDATE

 

 

More large glass windows have been installed on the former Myer building at Kings Square that is being developed by Sirona Capital as part of the Kings Square Redevelopment Project. We are slowly getting an idea what it will look like.

PROBUILD is hard at work to finish the buildings on time for the opening around Christmas this year.

Roel Loopers

BUILDING CRANE IN FREO’S HISTORIC WEST END

 

 

It is rather unusual to see a big building crane going up in Fremantle’s historic West End, but this one was put together all day in Henry Street for the construction of the four-storey residential building on the former Fremantle Workers Club site.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE COUNCIL SITTING ON THE FENCE

 

The illegal fences in the Fremantle suburb of Hilton are becoming as big as Donald Trump’s fence against the ‘illegal’ Mexicans.

Fremantle Council last night decided to sit on the fence regarding the applications to retrospectively approve two unauthorised fences in Hilton. Instead of approving or rejecting the application the majority of councillor voted for an amendment by Hilton councillor Jeff McDonald to review council’s fencing policy for the garden suburb.

I like it that councillor McDonald is trying to look after his fellow Hiltonites so well, but have to agree with councillor Andrew Sullivan that there is nothing wrong with the current policy and that council should not change policy every time it has to make a decision.

And to the person in the public gallery who called out “It’s democracy” Yep, mate. Councils make policies and local laws and you abide by them, so don’t build a fence without Council approval and then have a whinge about the unfairness of it all!

Councillor Jon Strachan’s said that council has many more important issues to address at present than reviewing a fence policy in just one suburb.

Only councillors Waltham, Strachan and Sullivan voted against the amendment.

Some thoughts about fences by people who are a lot more intelligent and creative than I am:

• Creativity is the essence of fencing
• Safety is fences, and fences are for sheep
• If a person can build a fence around himself he is bound to do so
• Good fences make good neighbours
• It is absurd that we individualise ourselves with fences

But on a more serious note; I believe Fremantle Council probably should look at all fence policies because of urban infill, tiny and small houses, and subdivisions of suburban blocks where back fences become front fences.

The world is forever changing and so is good old Freo!

Roel Loopers

 

NO HIGHER DENSITY FOR QUARRY STREET?

 

The potential scheme amendment and zoning to R100 density for the properties at 7 and 9-15 Quarry Street in Fremantle is unlikely to proceed because of strong community objections to the idea.

The properties are owned by the City of Fremantle, which wants to sell them, but the community consultation showed that local residents are in favour of zoning the street for low-density R25 instead of medium-density R100.

Main concerns were the impact on the residential amenity of the streetscape, so the officers’ recommendation for this Wednesday Planning Committee is:

The report concludes that whilst there is planning merit in establishing a consistent zoning and suitable transitional density in this location, the complexity of developing mechanisms sufficient to address concerns raised to the satisfaction of the community, and the relatively modest increase in centre catchment/development yield likely to be achieved, does not warrant progressing the matter through all the stages of a formal scheme amendment process.

Roel Loopers

MORE AWARDS FOR FREMANTLE SLAVIN ARCHITECTS

 

 

My friends at North Fremantle SLAVIN ARCHITECTS are getting showered with awards for the very creative Mediterranean Shipping Company building in Cliff Street.

They just received the 2018 Australian Steel Industry Award for Small Projects, and already were awarded with the 2017 WA Architecture Awards – Winner – Colorbond Steel Award for Innovation in Steel, 2017 WA Architecture Awards – Commendation – Sustainability, 2017 WA Heritage Awards – Finalist – Conservation or Adaptive Re-use, 2018 Australian Steel Institute – Winner – Steel Excellence (Small Buildings), and also van Diddens painters received 2016 Master Painters Awards – Winner – Historical Restoration and the 2016 Master Painters Awards – Winner – Industrial and Protective Coatings.

Make sure to consider our excellent Fremantle architects for your next building projects!

Roel Loopers

 

DEMOLITION OF FREO CIVIC CENTRE TO START SOON

 

Demolition of the City of Fremantle civic building at Kings Square will start next month, with preliminary work and asbestos removal by DELTA Pty Ltd. The demolition is estimated to be completed by October this year.

Vibration monitoring will be conducted to safeguard the integrity of the heritage listed Townhall and any demolition work immediately adjacent to the Townhall will be done by hand if required.

Daily air monitoring will also take place during asbestos removal by a third-party hygienist.

Roel Loopers