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Westgate-Point Street Carpark
The Hilton That Never Happened
In 2012, the council sold most of the Westgate block, including the carpark, for $10 million to the Malaysian-backed SKS Group. The deal came with strings attached: build quickly, or risk losing the site. SKS promised a big win for Fremantle and their plan was ambitious, with a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel comprising of 168 rooms, a 45-apartment tower, shops and offices. All sitting on top of a rebuilt parking podium, the existing carpark would be partly demolished and integrated into the new structure. They had to start building within three years and finish within five.
On paper it looked like Fremantle’s tired east end was about to be reborn. But as the years ticked by, nothing happened and the project was stalled. Locals grew restless. Despite securing approvals in 2014 and later submitting revised designs in 2020, construction never began. SKS repeatedly sought deadline extensions, frustrating both council and community. Locals grew sceptical. By 2020, community voices were openly saying what many suspected. The Hilton would never be built. After a decade of delays, SKS finally decided to sell.
October 2021
Sirona Urban Steps In
In 2022, the baton passed to a new team: Point Street Partners, a company linked to mining heiress Leonie Baldock, and Fremantle developer Sirona Urban. Sirona had already proven itself in Fremantle with the $270 million Kings Square redevelopment, turning a derelict part of town into Walyalup Koort and the bustling FOMO precinct.
Their vision for Point Street was not another stalled hotel but an eight-storey mixed-use complex designed by Architectus. It would be a $100 million residential hub — an eight-storey building with 220 apartments, cafés and offices at street level, and amenities for residents including a landscaped podium deck, pool, gym and landscaped terraces looking out toward Princess May Reserve. Parking would be consolidated underground and at ground level, with a single vehicle entry from Point Street. A development meant to “stitch” this end of town back into Fremantle’s fabric.
April 2022
