ONE of the casualties of the HIH Insurance collapse, Mounts Bay Village, is a step closer to completion.
Work on the village, being built on the old Emu Brewery site by HIH subsidiary FAI Property Services, was brought to a halt when HIH went into liquidation.
Construction recommenced last October thanks to finance from St George Bank, with revenue from sales going to HIH liquidator KPMG.
When completed, the village will be made up of an apartment hotel, residential block and commercial area.
The hotel and one block of residential apartments are already finished. The village also sports a restaurant, bar and delicatessen.
Work on the second block of apartments is due for completion in June, with the third block expected to be finished in 12 months.
The fence separating stages two and three from stage one is due to be removed in two weeks.
Mounts Bay Village general manager John Tognolini said sales for the remaining two apartment blocks were going strongly.
The block closest to completion is 80 per cent sold and the remaining block is 70 per cent sold.
“The one thing we’ve noted since we started selling again in October is the growth of owner-occupiers among the buyers,” Mr Tognolini said.
“They are now roughly equal in number to investors. Before, it was mostly investors buying the apartments.”
The village project has proved controversial. Residents in the Crawley area railed against it because they believed the size of its buildings would block their valuable Swan River views.
