$350m timber tower decision looms

A $350 million development, proposed to be the tallest timber tower in the world, will have to clear a planning hurdle after the City of South Perth recommended it be refused.

Grange Development is proposing to build a 51-storey building, standing at about 180 metres, on 4-8 Charles Street in South Perth.

The tower would comprise concrete, steel and timber structural elements but to be covered in glass, while the ground floor and podium would be externally clad in timber.

To be named C6, the hybrid timber development is expected to cost $138 million to build, according to the development application.

However, Grange Development told Business News the total development cost is expected to be $247 million with C6's end value to be between $325 million to $350 million.

The City of South Perth has recommended the development be refused by a development assessment panel at its upcoming meeting because the proposed height is inconsistent with its planning framework.

According to the city’s report, the applicant sought approval for a Tier 2 building height which has no limit and is instead discretionary.

“The architectural design of the proposed development has not achieved design excellence and consequently, in relation to the Tier 2 building height proposed, cannot be supported,” the city’s report said.

“Various design elements of the development do not achieve compliance with relevant state and local planning policies, the South Perth Activity Centre Plan and Town Planning Scheme 6 and as such, the application is recommended for refusal.”

The Victoria-based developer lodged plans in June 2022 but the proposal will only be considered by a development assessment panel next week.

The proposed development comprises 237 dwellings, a ground floor café or restaurant, a rooftop space with indoor dining pavilions and lounge, and communal facilities including playground, horticultural workshop and an urban farm.

According to the development application, the initial design for the site was submitted for preliminary review through the state government’s Significant Development Assessment Pathway.

The application ended up being lodged to the city for a joint development assessment panel consideration after being reviewed by the State Design Review Panel.

“Since lodgement of this application to the City, the proposal has been reviewed by the SDRP on two separate occasions, being March 2023 and July 2023,” the city’s report said.

Commenting on the recommendation for refusal, Grange Development founder James Dibble said WA had the longest and most tedious planning process in the country.

“C6 represents a beacon of progress in environmentally sustainable development,” he said.

“Yet, it remains mired in the bureaucratic labyrinth of Western Australia's planning system.

“South Perth currently represents the highest plot ratio in the state and we are facing a national housing crisis, and yet the state's planning system refuses to endorse a shovel-ready project that has been designed among the most progressive environmentally sustainable developments worldwide, and significantly, the first to emerge following the South Perth Activity Centre Plan's adoption.

“The building has secured numerous awards from international architects, yet the State Design Review Panel remains reluctant to recognise it as ‘good design’, let alone design excellence, for reasons it can’t succinctly explain.”