BEACONSFIELD’S Davis Park precinct is a step closer to redevelopment after the Cook government launched the process to find a developer.

The area off South Street is “suitable for a range of purposes” according to the state government’s expression of interest, with its “preferred uses” a local centre, supermarket, aged care, residential, and affordable housing. 

The 11,360sqm block of land previously hosted public housing which has since been demolished, and is now vacant and weed-ridden. 

The Davis Park redevelopment is part of Fremantle council’s Heart of Beaconsfield plan, which sets a strategic goal of revitalising the former South Metropolitan TAFE site, Lefroy Road quarry and the area once dubbed the Beacy Bronx. 

Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge says the government’s interest in developing the Beaconsfield are is “welcome” given the “desperate” need for housing in the area. 

“I’m curious to see how developers will respond to this,” Ms Fitzhardinge said. 

“We’ll be holding the line that we would like to see some density [in the development].

“We do know in WA, there’s kind of a nervousness around apartment developments, but we’re not talking anything extreme here.

“We’re hoping that there’s a positive response from the market, and also that it sets the signals for the remainder of the land not only at Davis Park, but also the TAFE site, which is really next cab off the rank for redevelopment.”

Ms Fitzhardinge says the council is supportive of the government’s proposal of a mixed-use site, saying it will attract potential residents to the Fremantle area while catering for a range of the city’s housing needs. 

• Fremantle state MP Simone McGurk in what might soon be the new heart of Beaconsfield.

Encourage

“As we understand how the market works, sometimes you need to have some mixed use in an area to encourage housing,” Ms Fitzhardinge said, “so people are more likely to want to build housing if they know there’s going to be a supermarket there, for example.

“We think it’d be fantastic to have, say, aged care for a few floors above a super supermarket, because we know that aged care facilities in Freo are bursting at the seams.

“We also think a contemporary four to five-storey development along South Street makes a fair bit of sense.” 

Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk says the expressions of interest are a “key step forward” in the Heart of Beaconsfield urban renewal, which has been in the works for over seven years.

“This is a growing local community and it’s vital we plan for and develop more housing and amenity in Beaconsfield,” Ms McGurk said.

“The transformation of Davis Park will provide the opportunity to boost housing supply and provide more local jobs right near the heart of Fremantle.”

Submissions for the expressions of interest close at 2pm on August 22. 

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER