Hillarys: Approval for $42m commercial and residential development next to Westfield Whitford City

PLANS for a $42 million commercial and residential development to the west of Westfield Whitford City shopping centre in Hillarys have been approved.

The Metro North-West Joint Development Assessment Panel first considered the proposal on Endeavour Road in November 2017 when it approved a four-storey building with 2415sq m of commercial floor space and a six-storey building with 1265sq m of commercial floor space and 42 residential apartments.

Both buildings would be separated by a community plaza, providing a pedestrian connection from Endeavour Road to Whitford City.

Then in July, developer Scentre Group applied to more than double the number of apartments and increase the building height by three storeys through an amendment.

However, the panel refused to approve it, saying the changes were more significant than an amendment and a new application should be made.

The new application, which came before the panel on November 30, proposed to increase the apartments from 42 to 87 and the storeys from six to nine, increase the commercial floor space by 722sq m, add a basement and modify the internal layout of both buildings.

The proposal also requires Endeavour Road to be modified with the relocation of the roundabout.

Though the development would exceed the maximum building height of 25m, with the residential building proposed at 30.6m, the meeting document stated it was considered to align with the objectives of the area and would “not unduly impact the Endeavour Road streetscape, the plaza, residential properties or the greater surrounding area”.

Urbis regional director Ray Haeren said it was planned to construct the development in two stages, with the main commercial building and community plaza first then the residential building.

He said the timing of the residential building would be determined by pre-sales.

A Scentre Group representative added that staging was needed because they could not proceed “without pre-commitment to lease and pre-sales for the residential” and it would be “difficult to reach both at the same time”.

Joondalup planning and community development director Dale Page said if this was the case, the City would require a staging plan to include expected timings and “how the interface would be handled in the interim”.

Urbis senior consultant Marieka van den Bergh also requested to extend the approval timeframe to three years rather than the standard two – a similar condition to what was approved in 2017.

Ms Page said this would be appropriate, with the City acknowledging it was a “substantial development”.

MJA Studio graduate architect Sarah Asher said the development would offer “office, retail, food, beverage and multi residential” opportunities and had been designed to “fit in with the urban environment now and in the future with large-scale development”.

She said the main differences to the 2017 proposal were “increasing the vibrancy of the area including more multiple residential dwellings, which the market is wanting, increased residential amenity with larger indoor spaces, a gym and pool, greater street-level community activation and lowering the wall to the street”.

Joondalup councillor Christine Hamilton-Prime said the proposal was an “attractive development” and would be “an asset to the area”.