Hawaiian, Multiplex back Claremont plan

Joint venture partners Hawaiian Management Group and Multiplex are preparing to file their third development approval within a year for a $300 million retail and residential redevelopment in the heart of Claremont.

The third proposal comes after the Town of Claremont rejected the first two development approvals, placing 120 conditions on the first retail and residential proposal, rejecting a second retail-only proposal, and then reversing its decision and approving the first proposal.

However, Hawaiian and Multiplex say the first proposal is no longer viable due to a rise in construction costs, and have appealed the Town of Claremont’s decision to reject the second proposal to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).

Hawaiian general manager of property development, Stuart Duplock, told WA Business News the third proposal would be a modified version of the retail-only proposal that included 100 residential apartments.

“We are trying to work up something which meets the needs of all stakeholders, and we would rather have a scheme that gets approved by the council than arguing in SAT for the outcome we want,” Mr Duplock said.

He said adding a residential component to the development helped to increase amenity, and the developers were working with council to produce an outcome that suited both parties.

“We are within weeks of filing the third proposal and have been working with council on this proposal,” Mr Duplock said.

The first development proposal, which was knocked back in March last year but then approved in November, contained 160 apartments.

Mr Duplock said the time that elapsed between when the development approval was lodged and the council’s ruling made the project no longer viable.

Town of Claremont acting CEO Terry Pearson told WA Business News last November that including a residential component in the development was very important for the town, and that the council was willing to compromise some of its original objections in order to obtain a residential component.

Hawaiian and Multiplex are not the only companies with a stake in Claremont, with listed company Clough planning a $70 million mixed-use development, including 57 residential apartments, on the former BC The Body Club site.

Claremont’s Bay View Terrace has the highest rent of any WA retail strip outside of the CBD, with October 2005 figures showing an average rent of $900 per square metre, and a 16 per cent increase in rents over 12 months.