Development unit backs Perron's $1bn Cockburn plan

Property investment giant Perron Group is expected to get the green light to proceed with its $1 billion plan to build a new town centre across a 21-hectare site in Cockburn, with the state’s new development pathway backing the move.

In December, Perron Group unveiled plans to double Cockburn Gateway Shopping City’s current retail footprint and add a new dining, entertainment, cinema precinct and fresh food market.

The company also intends to build two new office buildings, a hotel, several apartment buildings, 868 new dwellings, a transport hub, a childcare centre and landscaped public open spaces.

According to Perron Group’s development application, which is understood to have been more than a decade in the making, the entire project is expected to be built in four stages over about 10 to 15 years. 

The first stage, worth $203 million, is funded and construction is expected to commence within two years of development approval.

Late yesterday, the state’s Development Assessment Unit recommended the WA Planning Commission approve the development application when it meets next Thursday, October 28.

The redevelopment of Cockburn, Perron’s second largest retail asset, comes just three years after the completion of its $65 million revamp of Belmont Forum.

Perron Group also owns the Square Mirrabooka and a 50 per cent stake in Galleria Shopping Centre.