EQ West - Lots 2 & 3, Elizabeth Quay

Land sale and developers

CA & Associates was announced as the preferred developer for Lots 2 and 3 in January 2016 following a competitive tender process. The company brought together Malaysian businessman Choon Aun Goh, known as Victor Goh, and Adrian Fini’s Fini Group. The two lots covered approximately 6,208m². The publicly announced land price was $85 million, while a later Supreme Court judgment recorded completion of the purchase around 2 March 2017 for $93.5 million. The difference is consistent with GST, although this was not explained in the relevant passage of the judgment.

 

Design and planning approvals

Designs by Kerry Hill Architects were unveiled in September 2016 after an international design competition. The development was promoted as a $385 million project, with construction expected to begin in 2017 and finish in 2019. Alongside apartments, hotel accommodation, offices and hospitality premises, the proposal included a public art gallery and viewing deck at the top of the southern tower.

 

The City of Perth considered a preliminary application in November 2016 for a 50-storey southern tower and a 25-storey northern tower. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority granted in-principle approval on 21 December 2016. This supported a substantial increase above the southern site’s prescribed 25-storey height guideline, subject to further design work and assessment.

 

By May 2017, the formal proposal comprised 52 and 25-storey buildings containing 484 apartments and 190 hotel rooms or serviced apartments.

 

The southern tower contained 275 apartments, all with two, three or four bedrooms. The northern tower contained 209 apartments, including 33 described as affordable housing, as well as the hotel accommodation. Four basement levels were proposed under the development, including under William Lane, which separated the two lots.

 

The covered plaza and connecting lanes were intended to provide pedestrian routes through the site, with shops, cafés, restaurants and building entrances around them. The northern tower also included offices, meeting facilities and a wellness centre with a pool, gym and treatment rooms. The gallery and viewing deck formed part of the developer’s justification for the additional height, with City officers recommending that public access be secured in perpetuity.

 

The City supported the proposal subject to changes. Its assessment raised concerns about undersized balconies and winter gardens, the lack of natural light in southern-tower corridors, basement storage layouts and the treatment of the tower where it met the riverfront. Officers also sought fewer residential parking bays, improved pedestrian safety and further details about how the plaza and public facilities would operate.

 

The MRA Board approved the development on 8 September 2017. According to a later DevelopmentWA assessment report, the approved scheme comprised a 53-storey southern tower and a 26-storey northern tower, containing 493 dwellings and 190 hotel rooms. Internal changes during the working-drawing and building-permit processes reduced the dwelling count to 456. Construction commenced in 2019 using these revised drawings.