Full steam ahead for Midland projects

PROPERTY developers are pressing ahead with their projects in Midland despite the withdrawal by Singapore-based Raffles Education Corporation from plans to establish a university at Midland’s heritage-listed Railway Workshops.

A new mixed-use development, Cale House, and new apartment developments by the Diploma Group are a part of the Midland Redevelopment Authority’s multi-million dollar revamp of central Midland and the Railway Workshops.

Property developer Erceg Management is the owner of Cale House, a four-storey development opposite the Midland Gate Shopping Centre.

Several national food chains have been secured as tenants for the ground floor of the building, including Hog’s Breath Cafe, Grill’d Burgers, Baskin Robbins, Red Rooster and Pasta Cup.

Erceg Management leasing manager Anthony Sorgiovanni said the development would breathe new life into what was traditionally a run-down part of Midland.

“This area 18 months ago was very run down, but this new development will provide about 3,000 square metres of office space and will see national tenants being added to Midland that have not been seen or attracted to this style of tenancy before,” Mr Sorgiovanni told WA Business News.

Erceg Management collaborated with the Midland Redevelopment Authority, both of which are hoping to secure local government departments as tenants for the office space.

“Decentralisation of government agencies to the suburbs is on the agenda at the moment and Midland was identified as one of these places, so we were trying to secure one of those departments,” Mr Sorgiovanni said.

Construction of Cale House will be completed in August, with the retail tenants also moving in at that time.

Erceg Management also owns The Principal Tavern next door to Cale House, a heritage-listed building that has been converted into a brewery.

Meanwhile, the Midland Redevelopment Authority is going ahead with its development of the Railway Workshops, with lots for terrace housing, apartments and offices soon to be released to the public.

Midland Redevelopment Authority chief executive Kieran Kinsella said the authority would start a community awareness campaign to market the land inside and around the Railway Workshops.

“We will start to do different stages of land sales for the workshops subdivision in the last week of June and then by late July we will make the first offer into the marketplace,” he said.

Last week, the final lot in the 71-lot Woodbridge lakes residential subdivision, located 400 metres from the Midland town centre, was sold.

Meanwhile, Diploma Group announced this week it had completed the 33-week construction program of its Foundry apartment development in Midland.

The $17.5 million residential building is located at 708 Foundry Lane and includes 43 apartments over three levels.

Diploma Group chief executive Nick Di Latte said the Foundry Apartments highlighted a growing demand for quality apartments in areas outside of the Perth CBD.

“Based on the success of Foundry Apartments we secured another site in the area earlier this year and look forward to releasing a second mixed use project to the market later in the year,” Mr Di Latte said.

The second site was for a $25 million mixed-use development that would consist of 60 apartments plus 590sqm of commercial space located on the corner of Keane Street and The Crescent.

Mr Di Latte expects this development will be as strong as the Foundry development, which achieved 85 per cent pre-sales within two months.

“Midland is currently undergoing significant urban renewal, the sales success of Foundry Apartments demonstrated that the market has a clear appetite for apartments in a prime location that offer value for money and a convenient lifestyle,” Mr Di Latte said.

Building has also commenced on the $10 million Super GP Clinic awarded to Pindan, which is being constructed opposite the proposed site of the $360 million Midland Health Campus.

Mr Kinsella said that the Cale House development and Diploma’s apartment projects would increase the number of people in the town centre, which would make the area safer.

“It’s an exciting prospect because it will bring some high-quality residential space and some new restaurants to town, and being close to the Midland town centre and the train station it will provide a contemporary lifestyle,” he said.