One of the state’s top architects has lashed out at the state government’s plan to bundle five hectares of city land into one development package, as part of the Perth City Link.
The state government released the land for expressions of interest yesterday, calling for developers to submit their plans for the area.
Australian Institute of Architects WA chapter president David Karotkin said he was “disappointed and surprised” to read the landholdings were being bundled into one package to be offered to a single buyer.
Mr Karotkin said by packaging the landholding, the project was now restricted to developers that are either extremely large, or in a position to join a consortium.
“Not only does this restrict developer access to this significant site, our view is that a single developer option will result in an homogeneous development outcome without genuine texture or soul,” Mr Karotkin said.
“ By handing over development control to a single entity, the government will not only deny many local and boutique developers access to this significant site, it will also lose flexibility to respond to evolving planning and development opportunities that will emerge over the timeframe that the site will be developed.
Mr Karotkin also said he was surprised at the decision, because at an informal briefing delivered by the Department of Planning, the institute was told the site would not be packaged into a single development opportunity.
“This decision feels like the Government are seeking the easy option in order to off-load the project as quickly as possible to the private sector,” he said.
“With the number of significant central Perth development opportunities currently being created by the State Government, including the Foreshore, City Link and Riverside, we believe development controls should be loosened and developers should be encouraged to propose innovative developments which would be evaluated by expert panels against outcome based criteria rather than predefined design parameters.”
