Belmont is undergoing a pickup in commercial and residential building activity along Great Eastern Highway, with new developments proceeding in tandem with the widening of the highway
“Over the past four to five years the city has received and approved many office and multiple dwelling developments along Great Eastern Highway,” City of Belmont mayor Phil Marks said.
A key driver for the developments in the area is its proximity to the Perth CBD and the airport, which has made it attractive for new office and residential developments.
Building has started on the second stage of Jaxon Development’s Eastlink Office Park at 195 Great Eastern Highway, despite the lack of a tenant at this stage. Construction of the four-storey building is expected to be completed in June this year, and will offer 3,105 square metres of office space and 98 car bays.
The other major area of construction activity is at LandCorp’s Springs estate, a 14-hectare development in Rivervale bounded by Graham Farmer Freeway, Great Eastern Highway and Brighton Road. The vision for the site is to build a vibrant mixed area, ultimately with more than 1,000 residential dwellings in a mix of apartments and townhouses and nearly 40,000sq m of office space.
Finbar has been announced as the main partner for the first stage of the project, during which it plans to construct two residential apartment blocks of eight and 16 storeys as well as a six-storey office building. These are expected to be ready in 2014. Civil construction works have started, with a mid-year completion date targeteD.
These projects follow the recent completion of six new showrooms by Pact constructions further down the highway in Redcliffe.
According to the City of Belmont, several other projects in the pipeline for development along the highway have recently been granted council approval and are awaiting construction.
In April, a plan for a four-storey office on the corner of Great Eastern Highway and Acton Avenue owned by Qube Rivervale Developments was granted council approval. The land had been vacant following demolition of the former restaurant on the site in 2008.
The city also recently approved a four-storey, 25-unit development over three vacant lots along Armadale Road in Rivervale, across the road from the Great Eastern Motor Hotel.
A Development Assessment Panel has also given approval for a major expansion of the Country Comfort Inter City Motel complex. Under the planned expansion, a further 62 short-stay serviced apartments will be added to the motel, located on the corner of Great Eastern Highway and Kimberley Street, significantly adding to the 100 rooms it currently has.
“The city is confident that these high-quality landmark developments will not only provide additional accommodation and job opportunities within the City of Belmont, but will also enhance the visual amenity and vista of Great Eastern Highway,” Mr Marks told WA Business News.
The news isn’t all positive, however; a number of projects remain stalled but are still being promoted or listed for sale.
One of those is VU 175, located at 175 Great Eastern Highway, which was granted planning approval in 2010 but remains a vacant block. An application for a building licence has not been submitted for this site.
According to its promoters, VU 175 promises to be a modern six-storey office with a total floor space of 7,208sq m.
A proposed four-storey office on a 968sq m block on the corner of the highway and Belmont Avenue is currently listed for sale. In 2008, approval for 23 strata office suites at the site was granted, but it has not yet been developed.
Similarly, plans for a 10-storey set of residential units at 60 Great Eastern Highway appear to have stalled, with the development approval now expired and the land offered for sale.
