International Cities Town Centres & Communities Society
ICTC2011 Grand Chancellor Hotel, Hobart, Australia 25 – 28 October, 2011
Perry Lakes – The Renewal Project Ross Holt Chief Executive, LandCorp, Western Australia T: 08-9482 7426 E: ross.holt@landcorp.com.au
ABSTRACT Demolishing an iconic sports stadium and replacing it and the surrounding site with a modern, mixed density housing development is always going to present challenges. Add the sensitivities of the development being adjacent to a significant wetland, in the middle of a well-established, green and leafy suburb and the challenges are magnified. That was the situation the Western Australian Government faced when it announced plans to redevelop Perry Lakes Stadium in Floreat. The ageing stadium had held special meaning for many Western Australians since 1962 when it was built for the VII British Empire and Commonwealth Games and had later been the venue for major events from international sports to concerts. The Perry Lakes redevelopment, just seven kilometres from Perth city and close to the beach, shops and other amenities, sees the precinct taking shape as a hub of housing diversity. It will have up to 606 dwellings including detached homes, town houses and apartments and extensive open space areas (15.5%). Following an Act of Parliament in 2005 enabling the redevelopment, the State’s property developer, LandCorp, has taken the project through concept planning, extensive community and stakeholder consultation, structure planning, subdivision design, demolition, construction and land sales. Work on the 15.6 hectare site is now well under way with a strong focus on incorporating the history of the site through the design guidelines and detailed area plans that will reflect the built form from the Commonwealth Games. In addition there has been extensive resuse of materials in landscaping and in other public projects, naming of streets and public art. KEYWORDS: Perry Lakes, redevelopment, housing, diversity
1. INTRODUCTION Home of the VII British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Perry Lakes, in the Perth suburb of Floreat, has played an important part of the lives of successive generations of Western Australians. Renewal of a site with such history meant a considered, strategic approach to stakeholder engagement, not only to balance the range of views on the future of the site, but also to help achieve outcomes to secure the project’s delivery and its many benefits. The project involved an innovative approach to preserving the site’s sporting history through the reuse of material from various buildings and structures. Since the enactment of the Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act (the Act) in 2005 LandCorp has taken the project through concept planning, extensive community and stakeholder consultation, structure planning and subdivision design. The residential infill of this special location embraces sophisticated, seamless integration with the natural surrounds of Perry Lakes Reserve and wetlands. Design guidelines and detailed area plans have been created to ensure that the ultimate built form outcome will be a reflection of the architectural style of the Perry Lakes stadium which was prevalent in the early 1960s Design guidelines have been created to encompass building techniques, use of materials and planning all residential densities help ensure the development reflects the Modernist architectural style prevalent in the early 1960s. Urban rejuvenation is a significant component of the Western Australian State Government’s Directions 2031 and Beyond policy initiative which responds to a forecasted metropolitan population of 2.2 million by 2031. With a significant increase in demand for housing, jobs and infrastructure expected, major urban consolidation projects like Perry Lakes will play a role in ensuring that Perth meets its potential as a City in line with strategic planning documents.
Location of the Perry Lakes project (in red) in relation to the Perry Lakes and AK reserves and surrounds
2. HISTORY OF THE SITE
Comment [p1]:
The Perry Lakes stadium was built in 1962 for the VII British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held that same year. It subsequently became a multipurpose sporting venue, used for athletics, soccer and rugby sporting events. The Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act was passed in 2005, paving the way for replacement sporting facilities to be built nearby, while the 15.6Ha stadium site was earmarked for a residential development, to be undertaken by the WA State Government’s land and property developer, LandCorp. The Perry Lakes Redevelopment Plan was approved by the then Minister for Planning in July 2008 following extensive community consultation. Initial demolition of structures started on 11 January 2010 and was completed on 29 July 2010. These initial demolition works included removal of the rugby oval and clubrooms, a car park, the athletics stadium’s seats and field, and the terrace and turnstiles around the athletics stadium. Demolition of the basketball stadium was completed recently and the removal of the stadium grandstand started internally in August 2011 and will be fully completed by December 2011.
3. DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW The Perry Lakes redevelopment will transform the site and produce a range of housing choices for a new community of 606 dwellings for a population of approximately 1,200 people.
Comment [p2]: Not sure if this belongs here! Is this a history of the Perry Lakes stadium site or an update on progress to date etc ? Comment [p3]: I think this section needs to be reordered so that it reflects the project timeline..
LandCorp has called for Expressions of Interest from the development sector to help deliver the built form for next stage of the Perry Lakes estate. LandCorp has offered 22 terrace style housing lots grouped into four packages, three group housing sites allowing up to 34 dwellings and two apartment sites that could yield up to 124 dwellings. Design guidelines for the redevelopment have been created and implemented to reflect the site’s history and to ensure a high quality built form outcome is achieved. The design guidelines consist of four precincts: Garden Belt – adjacent to the green belt, open spaces and treed parks that form the perimeter of the development and responds to the broader Floreat garden suburb Track and Field – located towards the centre the track forms a ring road within the precinct reflecting the original 400m running track. International – in the heart of the redevelopment reflecting formal modernist design Adding density, the Apartment precinct near Underwood Avenue, reflects the style of important modernist public structures of the 1962 Commonwealth Games Stage 1 subdivision works created 39 lots, upgrade of the existing public open space and rehabilitation of the Perry lakes wetlands bordering the site.
Comment [p4]: Refer to design guidelines to ensure these are correct.
Following the successful first land release by auction in December 2010, the balance of Stage 1 lots were released to the market in April 2011. Stage 2 and 3 subdivision civil works are now underway and Stage 2 lots are expected to be released for sale in early 2012. 3.1 Extensive Consultation Demolishing an historic sports stadium and replacing it and the surrounding site with a modern, mixed density housing development is always going to present challenges. Add the sensitivities of the development being in the middle of a well-established, green and leafy suburb and the challenges are magnified. During the consultation phase, infill, density, building heights, traffic management heritage and environment were key issues raised by residents and stakeholders. Importantly, the community was invited to provide input on the redevelopment from the beginning of the project. The process followed State Government community consultation guidelines and encouraged representative community and stakeholder input to optimise their ownership and support of the project. The issues, ideas and opportunities identified in the initial stages of the consultation (telephone survey and open day) informed the preliminary planning stages and were further refined and informed by input received at the community forum and the first Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) meeting. As it evolved, the Concept Plan was referred to the SRG where issues and conflicting priorities were discussed and recommendations made. This process assisted in the development of a Draft Redevelopment Concept Plan that was then presented to the Town of Cambridge for comment and released for a preliminary period of public feedback. The feedback received on the Draft Redevelopment Concept Plan enabled further refinement of the plan.
LandCorp undertakes a community forum in 2006.
Comment [p5]: This could be emphasized more ?? See previous media statements released.
3.2 Communication Timeline Communications and community consultation on the project has been extensive: December 2005 – Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act 2005 gazetted February 2006 – Control of land transferred to the State Government March 2006 – Service agreement between Town of Cambridge and LandCorp April – June 2006 – Telephone survey and community open day July 2006 – Start of redevelopment planning (incorporating feedback from initial and ongoing community consultation and statutory advertising and approval process) July 2007 – Conclusion of redevelopment planning and approval of final Redevelopment Plan 2009 – Start of minor site demolition and civil works. Jan 2010 – Stage 1 civil and landscaping construction Dec 2010 – Land sales commenced To support public relations and marketing activities, an extensive suite of communications tools were developed, comprising: Database development Project information line Websites Advertising Advertorials Signage Information office
Open/Information Days Public meetings/forums Reference groups established Feedback forms Newsletters Letters Presentations and briefings
4. Density and Government Policy The Perth and Peel regions are projected to grow from 1.65 million people to more than 2.2 million by 2031, requiring 328,000 new dwellings to accommodate this growth. Directions 2031 and Beyond outlines an urban expansion management program to ensure there is enough land available for development and to avoid the supply shortages and negative effect on housing affordability. To ensure growth of Perth can be sustained beyond 2031, Directions 2031 sets a target of 47 per cent, or 154,000 of the required 328,000 dwellings, as infill development. The project team is ensuring the development meets the requirements of The Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act and State planning guidelines at the time Network City and Liveable Neighbourhoods, and more recently, Directions 2031 and Beyond. To meet social sustainability objectives, the redevelopment of the site for residential housing required a range of lot types and sizes to offer diversity in housing and lifestyle choices including the provision for suitable housing for people over the age of fifty five.
The higher density housing will be located in the south-west corner of the site, near Underwood Avenue. The maximum height in this precinct will be five storeys, which was the height of the former main grandstand at Perry Lakes. 5. SOCIAL, COMMERCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY In keeping with LandCorp’s commitment to sustainability, progressive social, economic and environmental principles are being applied to the Perry Lakes redevelopment. As part of the Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act 2005, specific sustainability objectives for the project are mandated: Minimum 15 per cent public open space Recycling of materials where possible Minimisation of materials to landfill Reduction of average water consumption Reduction of average energy consumption Maximum five storey building height Provision of accommodation for over 55s 5.1 Commercial Considerations Town of Cambridge is a key beneficiary of the project under the Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act. In addition the project provides funding for the construction of replacement sporting facilities at the nearby AK Reserve. These replacement sporting facilities include: A new athletics stadium with a 2,000 seat grandstand and further space for 10,000 spectators A basketball facility with eight courts and office space for local clubs and Basketball WA New rugby playing facilities with a grandstand, office accommodation for Rugby WA and training facilities for the Western Force club Following the successful completion of the sporting and land development components of the project, the Town of Cambridge will receive a return of at least $50million.
Comment [p6]: Not sure if this should be mentioned!!
All land sales from the redevelopment are reverted back to the Perry Lakes Trust to meet the cost of building the new sport facilities and allocation to the Town of Cambridge at the completion of the project. LandCorp receives no profits from the project as it is purely acting as the State’s project manager. 5.2 Environmental Sustainability The development works have included undertaking extensive work to improve the condition of the eastern lake edge fronting the development including the removal of weeds and exotic plants. Rehabilitation and landscaping using native species is an important part of the project to assist with the overall enhancement of the area. In addition LandCorp constructed an environmentally sensitive storm water drainage solution to ensure the adjacent wet lands were protected. Approximately 15.5 per cent of the site is dedicated to public open space (POS), which is significantly more than the usual allowance of 10 per cent public open space and more than the 15 per cent requirement under the legislation.
Comment [p7]: If this term is going to be used it should be mentioned earlier in the document.
The project team has gone to extensive efforts to ensure significant native mature trees are retained on site (70% of trees have been retained). These efforts have included boring of services beneath tree roots, formulating designs to accommodate trees and alternate retaining wall design to protect tree roots. In addition, there are a number of smaller landscaped spaces and a central walk-through linking the adjacent wetlands with the new and existing surroundings. 5.3 Detailed design To ensure a range of social and environmental initiatives are achieved at Perry Lakes, LandCorp developed Detailed Area Plans (DAP) and Design Guidelines in consultation with the Town of Cambridge and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. The DAPs will specify the location, orientation, height, design and the space between buildings, as well as the landscaping around houses and other aspects. The Design Guidelines will ensure homes in Perry Lakes incorporate energy efficiency principles, such as climate responsive design, and also detail the desired character, setting and amenity. 5.4 Waste reduction and resource renewal Community comment received during the statutory advertising period of the Draft Redevelopment Plan (August to October 2007) overwhelmingly supported initiatives to recycle materials from the demolition of the old structures to preserve the site’s sporting history in the redevelopment project. The LandCorp project team identified several effective ways to recycle materials on-site and elsewhere bricks and concrete were re-used as road base and the stadium’s timber seating was recycled. The main example of this approach was the reuse of the timber seating in public artwork and landscape features such as outdoor furniture and the boardwalk which borders the Perry Lakes wetland area. A total of 650m2 of recycled timber was used for the boardwalk and 110 linear metres of recycled timber was used for landscape furniture, including benches. A section of the basketball stadium roof structure (unique steel beams) will be used for a large public art installation, while the starting block signage and other stadium signage will be used for a collage art piece.
Comment [p8]: Send a camera man out to Perry Lakes. All the plastic bags have been removed and it looks significantly better.
Native plantings and recycled stadium seating used in the construction of boardwalks at Perry Lakes
Around 70 per cent (by volume) of demolition material equating to 8,280m3 was diverted from landfill by recycling or reusing material, including: Wooden bench seats recycled into timber decking for the 2011 CHOGM reception centre in Kings Park Local councils including Town of Cambridge received recycled material Cockburn Basketball Association received recycled wooden flooring to resurface its courts Basketball WA received material for memorabilia purposes To further capture the history of the site, street names in development reflect key themes and sports from the 1962 games.
6. CONCLUSIONS Creating a modern infill housing development at a historic site such as Perry Lakes presented significant challenges for LandCorp and its stakeholders. Guided by the Perry Lakes Redevelopment Act of Parliament, the State’s policy initiatives for future urban development and its vision for the site, LandCorp successfully delivered the first stages of the redevelopment with 80% of stage 1 lots being sold to date. LandCorp’s inclusive approach has ensured significant achievements for the project and its continued success as an urban infill and regeneration project.
REFERENCES West Australian Planning Commission (2010) Directions 2031 and Beyond metropolitan planning beyond the horizon, available at: www.planning.wa.gov.au/publications/826.asp