The long-awaited $120 million Perth Surf Park has been at least 10 years in the making.
Western Australia’s first surf park has formally marked the beginning of construction, at least 10 years after the project was first floated.
Aventuur’s $120 million Perth Surf Park in Jandakot started early works with Urban Resources in January after securing a construction loan facility through the National Australia Bank.
The man who has been driving the idea from the beginning, Aventuur chair Andrew Ross, said two main works contractors would be announced in June, to complete the project by spring next year and open to the public in late 2027.
Plans for the Prinsep Road site include a 2.2-hectare surfing lagoon with Wavegarden Cove technology, a surf academy, accommodation, restaurants and leisure amenities.
“We have 8,500 square meters of built forms,” Mr Ross said of the masterplan for the park.
“We have five venues for food and hospitality, a 2,500-person events lawn, hosting major music events here on site, retail, health and wellness, spa, saunas, ice baths, and a whole range of different things for the community.”
In August last year, Aventuur secured a final investment from RAC Group WA to join Wyllie Group and Aventuur’s own contributions to bring the wave park to life.
According to Aventuur, the park is expected to draw more than 1 million visitors each year, delivering more than $300 million in economic impact over the project’s lifetime, while creating 280 construction jobs and around 100 ongoing jobs.
In an emotional speech, Mr Ross thanked all those involved with the project which has been in the making for more than a decade.
“This is going to become an iconic and significant legacy project for Perth, where we'll have meaningful and positive impact on the social, cultural, sporting, entertainment and tourism landscape for this fair city,” he said.
Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti acknowledged the challenges faced by Aventuur.
“The development process, getting the DA, getting through some of the environmental water and other issues along the way, has been tough,” she said.
“I think Covid came in between there as well.
“As I said, the journey was a long one.”
Over the years, the wave park plan has received significant opposition from the community.
It was initially proposed to be built at Tompkins Park in Alfred Cove, but the state government knocked back the City of Melville’s application to use Crown land for the project.
That proposal was pitched by URBNSURF, a company Mr Ross founded in 2013 and headed until he joined Aventuur in mid-2020.
The two companies competed to win the contract to develop a surf park in Jandakot, and the state government chose Aventuur.
That led to the state government leasing the 5.7 hectares of land on the corner of Prinsep Road and Knock Way in 2022.
The following year, Aventuur received development approval for the Jandakot park and construction was expected to be complete in 2025.
