Servicing the eastern fringe

The recent surge of residential activity in the city's foreshore precinct to the east of the Supreme Court Gardens stands in stark contrast to the lack of any significant growth in the number of businesses servicing the area.

That's not to say there aren't business owners willing to move into the neighbourhood, however, with two hospitality businesses planned, including one in a retail space that has been empty for the past three years.

Canning Vale fruit and vegetable retailer Mark Yin is planning a cafe-cum-deli, New York Delicatessen Cafe Bar, to be located on the ground floor of the Westralian east wing at 78 Terrace Road.

Completed three years ago, the Westralian's 96 luxury apartments are fully occupied. The retail frontage of the building has always been empty, however.

Mr Yin bought the 250 square metre space two years ago, and although he said one resident objected to his venture at the beginning, he is now confident the project will go ahead.

Meanwhile, a Vietnamese restaurant, Sen Restaurant, is expected to open within months at The Altair, at 132 Terrace Road.

The Altair building was only completed 14 months ago.

The restaurant is currently waiting for council approval.

Although the City of Perth has encouraged commercial elements in the new residential developments on Terrace Road, take-up has been slow, with some of the commercial tenancies vacant for extended periods of time once the buildings are completed.

An objective of the Terrace Road Design Guidelines defined by the City of Perth is to encourage a range of incidental and complementary commercial uses adjacent to street frontages in order to increase the level of activity along Terrace Road.

The Altair's strata manager for Urban West Strata Services, Gail Willmott, who lives in the building, said residents were keen to get more commercial activity happening.

"In summer, the foreshore is full of people; it would be great to see a lot more happening along there...when you have the Red Bull Air Race or that kind of show happening, there's nowhere to go, you have to walk all the way back to Adelaide Terrace," she said.

According to Mrs Willmot, parking might become an issue further down the track if new businesses attract more people in the area.

The 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics census study showed, of Perth's inner-city suburbs, East Perth has the greatest number of dwellings and the highest residential population, at 48.4 per cent.

The census also showed that more than 4,000 private dwellings have been added to the inner-city housing stock since 1995 and a further 3,000 are in the pipeline, with the number of residents in the city growing from 5,600 in 1996 to 12,549.

The City of Perth 2007 Survey of Residents outlined residents' need for more communal amenities such as supermarkets, swimming pools and cafes.