Green light for $221 million redevelopment of Cottesloe’s Ocean Beach Hotel
A five-star hotel, apartments, shops and restaurants will be the new drawcards to the Cottesloe beachfront after a $221 million redevelopment of the iconic Ocean Beach Hotel (OBH) was approved by the State’s peak planning body.
The WA Planning Commission gave its unanimous approval to OBH owner Stan Quinlivan and luxury apartment developers Edge on Thursday, in a move expected to inject nearly $20 million into the WA economy each year.
The redevelopment of the 115-year-old cornerstone hotel and surrounding buildings was long overdue and will be bulldozed and replaced with three towers reaching 10 to 12-storeys across a 11,700sqm block at 140 Marine Parade.
The new OBH will feature a luxury 120-room hotel, 185 apartments and a new-look bar.
The public plazas will see the opening of four restaurants, four fast food outlets, four shops, three commercial tenancies, two pools and a public day spa.
“This site is one of the most iconic locations in Perth, not just for the opportunities it presents to deliver a world class mixed-used development but the rich social and cultural heritage of the site,” Edge Visionary Living head of developments Mike Harvey said.
“We appreciate redevelopment of this site will be a landmark moment in Perth’s history and we are committed to ensuring that the outcome that is achieved respects this significance.”
The pending redevelopment hasn’t all been smooth sailing with Cottesloe residents and council strongly objecting to the plans on the grounds that it exceeds the area’s height limit by four stories or 10m.
The council said plans would open up further foreshore development that would block views of the beach, including those from the heritage-listed Cottesloe Civic Centre.
“This is not a positive benchmark, it has been tweaked, and tweaked, and tweaked again and it is now presented to you for approval as a ‘good enough’ project,” Cottesloe Mayor Lorraine Young said.
“The site cries out for so much more than a ‘good enough’ outcome.”
Young said overshadowing would have a detrimental impact on the beach culture of Cottesloe.
State Development Assessment Unit director Paula Di Perna said the proposed redevelopment was “generally welcomed” despite the concerns.
“The proposed development will align with the purpose and intent of the local planning scheme by delivering a design that will support increases in population and employment opportunities, improve housing choice and variety in the locality,” she said.
“The development proposes a range of land uses and an intensity of development that maximises the site’s strategic location.”
The Cottesloe beachfront will soon look vastly different with a five-storey apartment block also in the works along with a $27 million seven-storey apartment complex and restaurant.
WAPC will also assess a $75 million residential apartment development, along with that mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s proposed restoration and expansion of the historic Indiana Teahouse.
Jonathan Jackson, 29th June 2023
