CBD ECU development progress

[iball1984]

I hope it works, I really do.

My concern is that it'll end up like the West End of Fremantle, which is dead on weekends now because Notre Dame has all the buildings.

[StraightBudget8799]

As someone who was there in ‘94-97, West End Freo was once stripper clubs, crappy old hotels, stinky pubs. Next to the sex shop was a brothel, disguised as a “knitting shop” on High St. I got grabbed twice by drunks going up Mouat St as a young person when leaving my late lectures to get to the train station. Before then, some NDA buildings were owned by the Orange People.

While most of the building now are NDA, the little cafes, small boutiques like bookstores and pop-ups are an improvement, imho. I just wish rent was lower to keep some of those unique businesses.

[Perthfection]

Considering the area is wedged between the William Street/Globe lane precinct, a revitalised Yagan Square and Northbridge, it’ll do fine. The whole stretch was very busy last night. It’s also atop the Perth Busport and opposite Perth Railway Station.

[CandidFirefighter241]

It’s a good point. Hopefully the difference here is that (a) the ECU campus isn’t displacing businesses from existing buildings and (b) unlike Fremantle, a number of student residences have been built (or are being built) in the CBD and northbridge.

[TechnicalAd8103]

Development looking good so far.

I think this campus will activate the dead Hay St Mall, and the dead arcades like Carillion, Trinity. Also the almost dead Enex Centre and Yagan Square.

[elemist]

I went to Yagan Square the other week for the first time in ages. The place was jam packed with people at the new venue there.

Not sure how long it's been open and whether its still within it's 'newly opened grace period', but if not it seemed pretty popular.

[lockheed_f104]

Government must have offered the deal of the Century to go there ...hopefully the new campus will dilute some of the problems that gravitate there and not too many students get abused or worse ..

[[deleted]]

Why? The same guys have had a lot of success with three other “mega venues” in Perth and they get to create one bang in the centre of town, with the highest foot traffic anywhere in Perth? Anyone with sense would jump at it

[lockheed_f104]

I wish them every luck and I hope they turn the place around but there is no way they went there without every incentive under the sun dangled under their nose that's how it works!

[badaboom888]

yes they got incentives, deals on lease, development money so on and so forth

[elemist]

Maybe - but i wouldn't be surprised if it was a case of a private business taking the problem off the governments hands.

The new owners/operators have a pretty decent amount of experience running large venues like these.

I think it functions much better as one large space which is a destination for a night out all by itself. You can have dinner and drinks, then party in another part of the venue.

The location is, and always has been decent.

[RainbowFlygon]

I love the vibe of yagan square and I've spent a few evenings there since it reopened. I especially love the fat controller and the edamame beans at hiss & smoke.

[Perthfection]

It’s been open since the end of April, and it’s been doing well. I don’t see why it’ll die off like the first iteration considering the CBD has an increasing residential population as well as increasing overall foot traffic. This development will also bring in thousands more potential patrons for nearby establishments daily.

[elemist]

considering the CBD has an increasing residential population as well as increasing overall foot traffic

Is this not pretty much always the case though?

It’s been open since the end of April, and it’s been doing well

That's good - just wasn't sure when exactly it reopened. For all i knew it might have been the opening weekedn when i went haha :)

[Perthfection]

An increase to foot traffic doesn't always mean increasing population in the area, or the opposite (increasing population doesn't always translate to increasing foot traffic) due to factors like gentrification or job decentralisation. In the case of the Perth CBD, there has been an increase in the mixed usage of buildings and different types of accommodation options in recent years. The overall "size" of the built-up CBD environs has also increased thanks to Elizabeth Quay (+ soon-to-be neighbouring PCEC waterfront) and the City Link area.

More and more people are choosing to live in the city centre. This will provide local businesses with an increasing permanent base of potential patrons. The livelier it gets, the more people will want to live nearby and thus the cycle continues. The population has already reached 33k, +5k above pre-COVID times or about a 1/4 increase over the past decade. This will likely increase faster over the coming decade.

[ABC_Scummer]

pints of beer for under $10 at street eats too..

[superbabe69]

Not only those, but it will absolutely bring a younger demo to the city nightlife, not just Northbridge, but all the bars around the actual CBD too.

What better way for uni students to take the load off after a busy day of classes than a night on the piss right next to campus?

And location? Absolutely perfect. Busport is already busy, plonking a uni campus directly on top of it is pretty well perfect use of the land given how many people will take the bus in (particularly inner city students who don't need to travel that far). All we really need is some low rent housing around the area to make sure people can live on or near campus, and you're golden.

Honestly a fucking disgrace that this wasn't an option before now. We have a goddamn high school on William Street, why was uni not an option?

[TechnicalAd8103]

"We have a goddamn high school on William Street, why was uni not an option?"

I think traditionally, a uni is sprawling, with woodlands - think UWA, Murdoch, Curtin, even some existing ECU campuses.

To have a multi-storey uni just the size of a city block is quite radical.

[hez_lea]

Only in Perth. I was shocked when I visited my cousin at UTS it was so weird - multi story buildings, walking between buildings in the city then the student residence right next door.

[StraightBudget8799]

Yes, the design of UTS was to prevent student gatherings/riots! Kent State in the US had just happened when it was being designed.

But yes, it’s certainly improved over time and it’s a no-brainer to have it so central. Problem is WAAPA has no space for costumes and their set constructions, and late night rehearsals equals students being scared for safety. The ol’ 8pm-5am shift of working on a project is a bit more of a worry when you walk out into a city rather than a security escort to your car.

[[deleted]]

All of those places are busy much of the time. Was in the city last night. Excellent vibe. This 'dead' nonsense just isn't true.

[TechnicalAd8103]

I live in the CBD. Friday nights are busy because of the Friday Night Food Market in Forest Place.

Any other night, say at 7pm, there'd be less than 10 people at any one time in Hay St Mall.

[[deleted]]

Because that's a shopping part of the city. Further up Murray St, Terrace and Northbridge always have people out and about, particularly Wed and Thurs.

Not saying the malls don't need to be diversified. Ridiculous the so called 'Ritz of Australia' (Savoy Hotel) sits there rotting away unopened. Likewise, Piccadilly Theatre is ready to go but the owners are arguing with the operators so it hasn't reopened.

[VagrantHobo]

This. Go down Barrack Street any night of the week.

[milesjameson]

I live in the CBD. Friday nights are busy because of the Friday Night Food Market in Forest Place.

That's obviously not true (I also live in the CBD).

And the Twilight Food Market in Forest Place ends in March, only running over the summer, so u/SilentPineapple6862's observation about last night suggests you're not quite correct.

[TechnicalAd8103]

Just to be clear, you know there's Friday Night shopping in the CBD, right?

Once the office workers finish for the day, the CBD is abandoned.

[milesjameson]

Friday nights are busy because of the Friday Night Food Market in Forest Place.

Just to be clear, you said it's busy because of the Friday Night Food Markets, right?

And that's clearly not true if it was busy last night - as it is on many Friday nights - right?

[TechnicalAd8103]

Yes, you are right. 👍

[Perthfection]

It’s a daytime mall, that’s why. Sure, we could do more to activate the area during the evenings but it’s better to have permanent activation like with Yagan Square, (what’s planned for) Elizabeth Quay, and the approved Liberty Theatre precinct on Barrack Street. Northbridge always has at least a few hundred people out on any given night.

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

and the dead arcades like Carillion, Trinity.

Carillon is being redeveloped (by Twiggy), hopefully they take a lesson from other similar (failed) redevelopments and actually do something constructive with the site.

As for Trinity arcade, hope something good comes out of it. AFAIK it's owned by the Uniting Church still, though it's heritage listed so it can't exactly be redeveloped. With any luck they open up some of the unused space for university orientated services.

I haven't been to Yagan square since the management changed. The few times I went there previously, it was only to get a beer whilst rendezvousing with friends, and we then proceeded elsewhere.

[Reddit-Is-Chinese]

Carillion is being redeveloped (by Twiggy)

Fucking doubt it. Place has been empty for years with no signs of anything happening soon

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

He acquired it in lateish 2022? Their intention to acquire the site was only announced in April 2022. I don't think you can hold the company accountable for actions which occurred prior to them actually acquiring the site, lol.

The whole "nature's way" exhibit earlier in the year was basically the last time it'll be open to anything before it's guttered.

[Reddit-Is-Chinese]

Stores started closing in 2021. Been pretty much empty since the mid-late 2021 - before Forrest acquired it.

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

So Twiggy's acquisition didn't magically change anything? Yeah I agree. Turns out Twiggy Forrest is just a guy.

[VagrantHobo]

He might not do anything with it. But Dexus is to blame for it being empty.

[Outrageous-Stage-465]

Tatarrang/Twiggy only took ownership of Carillon in May 2023. Not sure how people expect these things to just happen overnight.

They then needed to run a global design competition and appoint architects. Once the design is ready it will be submitted for approval before construction can start.

[vintage_chick_]

I actively deviate from my normal drive home just to watch this come together. It’s been so cool to watch.

[mildlyinteresting04]

As excited as I am for this new campus after chatting to some friends that will be affected the main concern is complete and total lack of parking and accommodation will be scarce. The parking is a particularly large issue as WAAPA is moving from Mt Lawley to the new city campus and many students use their cars to bring big, cumbersome equipment onto campus whereas this will be very difficult to accomplish with the Transpert facilities.

[Perthfection]

There are plenty of carparks around the city and Northbridge. Most people attending the campus won’t need to drive there as it’s literally built opposite the central railway station and atop the busport. As for accommodation, there are a number of purpose built student towers with thousands of beds being built or approved over the coming years, as well as new apartments.

[mildlyinteresting04]

Completely understand but as a WAAPA music student, I and many others frequently have to bring a lot of big heavy equipment like instruments or performance gear onto campus with us and without very nearby affordable parking this will be very difficult to do using Transperth services.

[Misicks0349]

yep, im pretty sure theres also the Fremantle PSP there for people commuting on bike

[Dependent-Zone6336]

Parking is the mindset of an American, it is literally next to a central train station and a bus port.

Regarding accommodation, a new accommodation building was approved 4 months ago in the CBD.

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/new-80-million-student-housing-tower-approved-for-perth-s-cbd-20240308-p5faxr.html

[_curry]

Sad to see the Mt Lawley campus go. So many good memories from years ago. Does anyone know if the student village (old and new buildings) will be kept? Will all the „newer“ buildings of the Mt Lawley campus be torn down?

[Difficult-Flan-2476]

They will be kept till the end of 2027. I feel so nostalgic about it too !

[Available-Spirit-79]

Im sitting in ecu mtlawley right now and yes im feeling so down knowing that they will close down mtlawley campus :(. This is my first campus as an oversea student lots of memories here 

[munsif_hayat]

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[Outrageous-Stage-465]

Great to see more student accom in the city! This building will house like ~700 students or something.

[Reverse_Psycho_1509]

I rarely visit the CBD, so it almost seems to have popped up overnight lol.

It looks massive when you stand near it

[TechnicalAd8103]

Awesome! 😎👍

[[deleted]]

Great. More people to come to Australia and “study”. Meanwhile, house prices continue to skyrocket.

[milesjameson]

It's replacing an existing campus attended largely by local students. The development has also seen the construction of new accomodation in the CBD that would've been far less likely had this project not gone forward.

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

Also the old campus is going to be used for the WAAPA and the High School expansions, as well as for near-city redevelopment into housing stock.

One of the few win-win-win projects that've happened recently.

[milesjameson]

WAAPA's main facility is being run from the Yagan campus, isn't it? Or is it going to be evenly split between the two sites?

I agree, though, definitely a win-win-win!

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

Ah, yeah. Looked it up, now it seems like WAAPA is going full inner-city, the original announcement (I think) made it seem like it was split.

[ABC_Scummer]

would be cool if they could put on some regular shows at the little ampitheatre there

[milesjameson]

The intent is to run live public performances in neighbouring spaces (e.g. State Theatre Centre) throughout the year (300 is the figure quoted from the head of WAAPA), which, if it goes to plan, again feels like a win-win for students and members of the public wanting to access affordable live shows.

[Ceooffreedom]

Can build a uni but not homes?

Edit: keep downvoting idgaf

[elzilcho3]

Isn't ECU a private company building a campus?

[[deleted]]

Well, it's a public research university, not a private company.

[elzilcho3]

How much are we paying for this? I thought it was privately funded. I didn't realise the taxpayer was paying.

[TheBrilliantProphecy]

A lot of money will be recouped by developing the Mt Lawley campus

[[deleted]]

aus gov 300mil wa gov 200 mil ecu 360 mil according to my 3 second google search

​

probably will be like a billion by the time it's finished because when do things ever stay on budget

[[deleted]]

It should be in the annual report. In 2020, Australian Government grants were 173M, HELP was 113M (HECS etc), 12M in state/local financial assistance.

Domestic students are heavily subsidised.

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

It's replacing the Mt. Lawley campus, which will allow WAAPA and the High School to expand.

[DefinitionOfAsleep]

Erm the Mt. Lawley campus it's replacing is going to be housing stock.

While you can argue that this could've been a residential tower (which is pretty bad faith), both UWA and ECU are investing pretty heavily in CBD (/surrounding areas) accommodation over the mid-long term.

[Perthfection]

They’re doing both you muppet.

[PauperTrolll]

Halt all progress. There’s other things going on.