The Western Australian Cricket Association’s $250 million plan to redevelop its ground into a 30,000-seat stadium alongside two 17-storey residential towers has prompted the WA Trotting Association, which owns the adjacent Gloucester Park, to delay finali
The Western Australian Cricket Association’s $250 million plan to redevelop its ground into a 30,000-seat stadium alongside two 17-storey residential towers has prompted the WA Trotting Association, which owns the adjacent Gloucester Park, to delay finalising its own development proposal.
WATA has plans of its own to redevelop the 15-hectare Gloucester Park site with a mixture of residential towers, office buildings, retail and entertainment facilities around the perimeter of a new race track.
President John Burt said while he had not yet met with the WACA to discuss the implications of its proposal released last week, he supported what the WACA was trying to achieve.
Mr Burt revealed the WATA would be watching closely over the coming year while its neighbour sought planning approval to build towers up to 17 storeys.
It has decided not to finalise a development proposal until the government’s decision on the WACA is handed down.
“The one thing we have in common is that our forbearers gave us two of the most iconic pieces of land in Australia to use for sport. With that comes a responsibility to the people of East Perth,” Mr Burt said.
“The WACA will really be the test case for us. I think anything that develops inner-city living for the benefit of East Perth by making it more accessible and user-friendly is a good thing.”
WATA has two different development proposals in play, which it has passed on to architects Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland to re-draw and cost.
Under the first plan, a new race track would be raised about four metres off the ground to provide for horse stables and a 1,200-bay car park beneath, with the City of Perth car park on the track’s eastern side occupied by mixed-use development.
Its second plan, however, would involve retention of the existing car park, repositioning of the mixed-use development, and a track built at ground level with a grassed roof.
Mr Burt said the WATA had met with the City of Perth to discuss how best to utilise the car parking space in the area, and more meetings were likely to occur over the course of the year.
WATA has not decided if it will partner with a developer but the estimated cost of the redevelopment is understood to be between $70 and $120 million.
The WACA, meanwhile, is confident of gaining planning approval for its ambitious plan.
Chief executive Graeme Wood said anything less than 17 storeys would make the project less viable for its joint venture partners, Ascot Capital Ltd.
“It’s no higher than the raffles tower, which has been approved, and if you look at the footprint of the Riverside project for EPRA, there are towers earmarked for the marina of 25 storeys. When you put that into context with the history of the WACA, we’re very hopeful the government will approve it,” he said last week.
The plan, designed by architects James Christou & Partners, features a total of 160 apartments, 12,000 square metres of office space, 24 townhouses and a 2,000sq m retail and entertainment precinct.
Before Ascot can lay the first brick, however, the WACA must receive approval from the WA Planning Commission (expected to take more than a year), East Perth Redevelopment Authority and Trinity College.
