Dalkeith Revue on Waratah

The Revue on Waratah development at 95 Waratah Avenue, occupies one of Dalkeith’s oldest commercial sites, replacing the Village Cinema building which had been there for several decades.

 

Early commercial history

The site formed part of the small Waratah Avenue shopping strip, which began taking shape during the mid-1930s as Dalkeith’s residential population increased. Together with the surrounding shops, cafés and services, the cinema became a familiar local landmark. As the building aged and cinema attendance fell, the property eventually became the subject of redevelopment proposals.

 

Redevelopment

The possibility of redeveloping Waratah Avenue began more than a decade ago. In 2012, planning changes approved by the State Government allowed commercial properties along Waratah Avenue to be redeveloped to a height of four storeys. The decision was controversial, with many local residents and the City of Nedlands raising concerns about the future character of the shopping precinct. This prompted further planning work, including a concept plan for the Waratah Avenue commercial area and upgrades to surrounding public spaces.

 

Several redevelopment proposals were lodged over the following years before the current project was approved for 95 Waratah Avenue. The final development received approval through the Metro Inner-North Joint Development Assessment Panel in 2020 after a public consultation process.

 

Preparing the cleared site

The Village Cinema was demolished to make way for Revue on Waratah, a mixed-use development combining apartments with ground-floor commercial space in the centre of Dalkeith. The completed building contains 14 apartments across four upper levels, three commercial tenancies at street level and basement parking. The apartments range from one to three bedrooms, while the ground-floor businesses continue the site’s long history with the Waratah Avenue shopping strip.

 

Sand, limestone & groundwater

Engineering investigations for the new development were carried out in September 2020 and again in March 2021. By the second inspection, the cinema building had been demolished and the property was recorded as vacant land. The redevelopment required excavation for a basement under the building, supported by piled retaining walls and shotcrete. A dilapidation survey was also recommended for nearby buildings, garages, roads and power poles within 2.5 metres of the basement retaining wall. Engineers required any remaining paving, uncontrolled fill and demolition debris to be removed before the new foundations were constructed.

 

Testing found mainly brown-orange Tamala sand under the property. The site forms part of the Tamala geological formation, with medium- to coarse-grained quartz sand and probable limestone at greater depth. One cone penetration test stopped at 7.44 metres, probably after reaching limestone, while another continued to 10.2 metres. The groundwater table was estimated to be about 14.5 metres below ground level. The bottom of the proposed excavation was still expected to remain approximately 9.4 metres above it, meaning groundwater pumping was not expected to be needed during construction.

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Construction

The redevelopment was undertaken by Village Cinema Dalkeith Pty Ltd, associated with Perth property group INGWE Capital. Preliminary site investigations began in 2020, with demolition and site preparation followed by construction during 2021.

 

The project had a reported construction value of approximately $14 million. When first released for sale, apartments were advertised from $490,000 for the sole one-bedroom apartment, from $799,000 for two-bedroom apartments, and between $1.4 million and $1.645 million for three-bedroom apartments.

 

Tower crane

A Potain MC85B hammerhead tower crane was installed at Revue on Waratah on 27 August 2021. It stood 33m (HUH), with a max jib length of 51.1m and a lifting capacity of 5t. The crane remained on site until it was dismantled on 8 March 2023.

 

The same crane was previously installed at:

440–444 William Street, Northbridge, in 2013

Springs Proximity at Lot 108 Rowe Avenue, Rivervale, in 2013

Tribeca South on Hawksburn Road, Rivervale, in 2014

10 Bellevue Apartments, West Perth, in 2016

136 Riseley Street, Booragoon, in 2017

38 Glyde Street, Mosman Park, in 2019

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Completed apartments

Revue on Waratah was substantially completed during the latter part of 2023, with residents appearing to have begun moving into the apartments around late 2023 and early 2024.