A contentious apartment plan at the Chellingworth Motors site in Nedlands, estimated at $500 million, has been green lit almost a year after it was knocked back by the same panel.
The Metro Inner North Joint Development Assessment Panel has voted to approve the most recent design of the project to be built on 97-105 Stirling Highway, which comprises 332 apartments across three towers of up to 24 storeys.
GURNER Group has applied to amend a 2021 design of the development, which was already approved, by adding 101 apartments and 76 car bays to the basement carpark.
Other proposed changes include removing the mezzanine, adding a residential communal gym, a communal pool, sauna and terrace, and replacing a connecting podium with a bridge between the central and western towers.
The panel previously refused the application in August, prompting Gurner to appeal to the State Administrative Tribunal and revise its designs.
Gurner previously estimated the worth of the commercial project as $500 million.
The JDAP members voted to approve the updated proposal, with a margin of 3-2, after a meeting that spanned four hours today.
“Overall, the proposal in term of its form…has a number of similarities with the approval that was granted in 2021,” JDAP presiding member Francesca Lefante said.
The project, a collaboration among Victoria-based companies Grange Development, GURNER Group and Costa Property Group, has been ongoing for many years.
Concerns from the community include the excessive height and potential traffic issues with the development.
City of Nedlands councillor and JDAP member Fergus Bennett said this was the biggest development in Nedlands on top of being built on one of the busiest streets but his suggestion to defer consideration of the project was not supported by the majority of the panel.
“The traffic flow has changed… and it makes more sense to have more details on that,” he said at today’s meeting.
The JDAP previously approved a $320 million application for a 231-apartment complex across three towers of up to 24 storeys at the Chellingworth Motors site in February 2021.
The approval came after a refusal in 2020.
East coast property developer GURNER Group became involved with the project in 2022 and has proposed to change the designs under a Form 2 application, which is reserved for amendments to an already approved development.
In August, the group’s proposal to add 137 apartments, increasing the central tower from 17 to 21 storeys, and adding 10 bays in the 506-bay car park was rejected by the JDAP.
The JDAP found the proposed changes were too substantial to be considered under a Form 2 application.
The developer lodged an appeal of the decision in the State Administrative Tribunal and had revised the application after three mediation sessions.
The City of Nedlands council remained opposed to the project and recommended the JDAP refuse the updated plan, even engaging law firm McLeods to present their objections at today’s JDAP meeting.
Mr Bennett said despite the revisions made after SAT sessions, the updated proposal was not a Form 2 application.
“This is very much Groundhog Day or déjà vu. The first part of the problem that we need to consider still hasn’t been solved,” he said.
“This design is the worst design.”
However, Ms Lefante said the podium was only one element for activation and noted the proposed tenancy mix for the commercial portion on the ground floor of the development.
“Leisure activities have changed over the years and this development does provide opportunities for a mix of communal resident activities on upper and ground levels,” she said.
