Square Metres: Why this old block of flats in South Perth is sitting on a $25m riverfront gold mine

A block of six old flats in South Perth will command one of the steepest land values in Perth, with agents expecting it will fetch a price in the mid $20 millions. The six units at 11 South Perth foreshore have a 28m frontage on the Swan River and look across to the city skyline. The 1730sqm property is zoned to allow a five-level residential development. If it fetches $25 million, the price will be equivalent to $14,450 per square metre, which will be among the most costly blocks of land per sqm ever paid for a development site. However, it falls short of the $15,148 per sqm paid for a 878sqm block on Odern Crescent in Swanbourne in 2021, which is believed to be a land-price record in Perth. Knight Frank agents Jonathan Wong, Cory Dell’Olio and Tony Delich are seeking expressions of interest on behalf of a private Chinese business family. It is one of the last opportunities to secure a large parcel ripe for development on the South Perth foreshore. It is currently occupied by a three-level, six-unit apartment block that is about 60 years old. Mr Wong said it was suitable for a premium residential development. “We have fielded strong interest for the site to date from buyers looking to secure a prime piece of real estate on Perth’s Swan River,” he said. “We believe this property represents one of the last opportunities to secure a large parcel on the South Perth foreshore. It offers holding income for buyers, with the added bonus of future development potential. “The site is particularly suitable for a premium residential development, being situated in an affluent city-fringe suburb and surrounded by luxury apartments. “It also has uninterrupted and stunning views of the Perth CBD across the Swan River, as well as Kings Park.” The site is close to the new Civic Heart Retail Complex, the Good Grocer South Perth IGA and South Shore Shopping Centre, plus multiple food and beverage options including The Station and Windsor Hotel. It is also a short walk from the South Perth ferry service and close to the Perth Zoo and the prestigious Royal Perth Golf Club. The expressions of interest campaign closes on August 29. Woolies gets tick for first WA fulfilment centre Mirrabooka will be home to WA’s first Woolworths customer fulfilment centre after State planners approved its $23.8m development plans on Tuesday. The future 7800sqm warehouse on Alexander Drive in Mirrabooka will not be accessible inside by customers, instead, it will be used as a warehouse for online orders and direct-to-boot orders. The development will include 12 direct-to-boot parking bays, one drive-through fast-food outlet, along with three retail showrooms, with the occupiers of these facilities not included in the plans. The site will also include a total of 411 carpark bays. Woolworths regional development manager Terry McCoy said there were seven customer fulfilment centre warehouses across Australia and the Mirrabooka facility would be the first in the State. “We would receive bulk deliveries from one of our distribution centres by all of our semi-trailers, the orders are then picked and packed by either our own drivers or contractors,” he said. “It is largely done for larger next-day home delivery orders. “This is really just to do the heavy lifting of next-day home-delivery orders. There are no customers at all in this facility.” Mr McCoy said the direct-to-boot parking bays would primarily be used by third-party operators such as Uber Eats or Deliveroo, along with customers who opted to collect from the warehouse instead of a Woolworths supermarket. The site is west of the Malaga industrial area and about 500m away from residential properties, with the report noting the site was previously used for landfill purposes between 1977 and 1997. The applicants of the development, Urbis, along with Woolworths’ development arm Fabcot, were successful in having some conditions removed at the panel meeting, including restrictions of delivery vehicles. Under the initial recommendation, approval conditions prevented service and delivery vehicles from accessing the site between 7pm and 7am on weekdays and 5pm and 9am on weekends. Urbis senior urban planner Kris Nolan said the site relied on cars all hours of the day and night. The applicant will also not be required to implement mitigation measures for landfill gas under the direction of the Department of Water and Environmental and Regulation, who noted the lot next to the development site was listed as contaminated, not the site in question. An alternative motion put forward by the City of Stirling amending these conditions was passed unanimously by the panel. DAP deputy presiding member Clayton Higham said he did not see any negatives in the application, while the DAP specialist member described it as an “appropriate land use for the site”.