- A Wellington Street development site earmarked for student accommodation will be offered for sale
- 14,000sqm site remains home to a heritage-listed corner façade
- Site presents opportunity for co-living space, said to be the real solution to WA's rental crisis
A prime development site in Perth’s CBD earmarked for a 30-storey student accommodation tower will soon be offered to the market.
The 1,400sqm site is located on the corner of Pier and Wellington streets and was previously home to Wellington Surplus Store for 75 years.
The building was partially demolished in 2018, with a heritage-listed corner building facade remaining at the site.
Development approval is already in place for the remaining facade, which will allow the purchaser to build a 713-bed student accommodation tower with a gross floor area of 18,500 sqm.
Co-living set to ease rental pain
Cygnet West has been appointed as the exclusive selling agent for the site which is zoned city centre under City of Perth planning regulations and has no height restrictions on development proposals.
Cygnet West Commercial Agency Partner Tory Packer and Commercial Agency Director Henry Vu will oversee the sales campaign.
Mr Vu said the site presented an exciting inner-city development opportunity, with strong appeal for either a student accommodation tower or a co-living space.
“With its close proximity to the proposed Edith Cowan University at Perth City Link, as well as the city’s major public transport infrastructure, 319-335 Wellington Street is an exciting prospect for large-scale developers,” he said.
Communal living spaces, while rare, are gaining traction in Perth. A co-living accommodation located on Wellington Street, The Switch, was converted earlier this year and is now fully occupied.
The Switch was developed by Perth-based private investor group Stirling Capital before being sold to global real estate developer Nuveen.
“With cost-of-living pressures as high as they are and residential rental vacancies at all-time lows, co-living is emerging as a highly suitable alternative in the current rental market.”
Tory Packer, Cygnet West
Ms Packer said that co-living combines the lifestyle and amenities benefits of inner-city living with affordability and community benefits, describing it as the “real solution” to WA’s rental crisis.
The Expressions of Interest campaign for the Wellington Street site will be launched on September 14 and closed on October 19.
