Bring back the boom: Shaping Perth’s activity centres
At the Future Directions’ sell-out event, industry experts discussed the challenges and opportunities surrounding the development of some of Perth’s most significant activity centres.
Stockland Retail Development Manager Prue Cunningham said that when developing an activity centre with a retail focus developers were providing much more of an experience orientated approach.
“Trends are shifting quickly and one of the biggest challenges when developing a shopping centre is the time it takes for plans to be approved. There have been times when delays have thwarted the overall outcome and make us less adaptable to changing trends especially in the food and beverage sectors.
“In all our projects, the focus is on creating a sense of community and a place where people will want to spend a lot of their time there. This means incorporating a wide range of entertainment options, as well as restaurants and of course retail,” she said.
Brett Davis, Director Wood & Grieve Engineers looked at the financial and environmental benefits of activity centres. He said: “all built form needs to be serviced with basic utilities such as water, sewer, power, gas and stormwater treatment. These utilities represent a capital expenditure for installation and ongoing operational expenditure for maintenance and upgrades.
“With concentrated mixed-use activity centres, there may be opportunities for precinct type energy generation and distribution, although this also needs other planning considerations to be looked at. There may also be opportunities around capture and recycling of either stormwater or sanitary drainage due to the concentrated volumes that activity centres will create,” Mr Davis said.
Lisa Spiers, Director Development, Properties, Finance, Development at Curtin University said: We need to collectively work smarter to market Perth as an exciting and affordable city that offers future global citizens world class educational opportunities (think laneway bars, Elizabeth Quay, the Stadium, Fringe Festival). In addition to this, Perth’s size and scale means it is possible for students to make important industry connections that will enhance their studies and their ultimate employability.
Our CBD is an important part of the overall proposition for WA. Education already has a deep footprint in our Perth City, and if we work strategically together – government, industry, tourism, developers, education providers including but not limited to Universities – then we can develop a compelling proposition that sells itself as: Students Choose Perth (not those big impersonal cities elsewhere).
Tanya Trevisan, Chief Operating Officer, TRG Properties said: “The most opportunities for growth are in Activity Centres that are in established central areas with existing infrastructure and which are close to public transport and schools. 70% of Perth’s population lives between 5 and 25km of the CBD and they will continue to want to live within this proximity as Perth’s population grows. These inner suburbs must adapt to be able to cope with the increasing number of residents. Density will quickly become the new normal.”