THE billion dollar Fremantle construction pipeline is seriously blocked.
The announcement that Silverleaf Investments is not going ahead with the residential component of its Woolstores development at Cantonment Street, and will also be delaying the planned hotel on that site, is disappointing and concerning, but understandable.
Property developers say that the market is not supporting new development, due to the high increase in costs.
They are not going to build at a loss, and if they were going to pass on the costs, buying an apartment would become prohibitive.
A local developer I spoke to t
his morning said they would have to ask a million dollars for a two-bedroom apartment, and hardly anyone would want to buy at that price.
PARC developers have also abandoned the plans to build a hotel on the corner of Suffolk and Street and South Terrace, and have not yet decided what to do with that site.
I suggested townhouses, but also tongue-in-cheek, that it would be perfect for a drive through McDonald’s, which would create a huge outcry in the Freo community.
The William Street carpark hotel plans by Tatarang are also on hold, and if and when Sirona Urban will be building the 250 apartment Point Street project is anyone’s guess.
Human-Urban have indicated they might start developing the Elders Woolstores site, opposite Clancy’s, next year, but will they in the current construction climate?
So we can be grateful that Silverleaf Investments are at least building the Coles Woolstores and The Guards hotel at the former courthouse and police lockup, and that they have completed the hospitality hub there, which is a great new feature for Fremantle.
I fear that we will have to be extremely patient before we see any substantial development in our city.
That is not a good sign for the housing crisis in the Perth metro area.
It’s very frustrating for all.
So where to from here for Fremantle?
Fremantle council has been banking on substantial inner city development, to increase the number of people living and working in the port city.
Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge expressed her desire to get at least 10,000 new residents in the inner city.
Planned new hotels were also going to accommodate more visitors staying overnight, to the anticipated benefit of Fremantle traders, but that will not happen now for many years to come.
When will substantial construction re-start in Fremantle?
Not even Planning Scheme Amendment 49, that targeted 13 inner city sites for substantial development, has made much of a difference. Most of the designated sites remain unchanged, with no plans for development for most of them.
Can Fremantle businesses survive this, when next year the traffic bridge will be closed for at least 12 months?
What can be done to attract more people to Fremantle and how can the closure of the bridge been compensated for?
Will the state government offer free train rides in and out of Freo, as it did with the Armadale line?
Roel Loopers/FREOVIEW