A $240 million megaproject is set to breathe new life into the iconic St Martins Centre, officially securing the green light for a makeover into a 240-room hotel with a retail hub and office spaces.
The Metro Inner Development Assessment Panel unanimously approved the plans on Wednesday morning, of which also included the redevelopment of the heritage-listed McNess Royal Arcade and Bridal House.
St Martins Properties’ owns three consecutive office towers on St Georges Terrace with the hotel set to be built at number 44.
The rotating restaurant at level 33 is intended to be retained and repurposed as a “sky bar facility” with additional supporting amenities for the new hotels to be built on levels two and three.
A new three-storey building will be added on the back that will host dining, retail and wellness functions as well as a podium rooftop-level pool club.
Primary office use will be retained at 40 and 50 St Georges Terrace, but with a new ground floor retail and dining area introduced to activate St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street.
McNess Royal Arcade was Perth’s first city shopping mall and was built in 1897.
The new development works are anticipated to be completed within four years across various stages.
Project proponent Daniel Lees from SLR Consulting said the building addition would be a game changer for the area.
“St Martin’s Centre, which comprises three office towers and extensive frontage to Hay Street Mall, is one of the most recognisable commercial precincts in Central Perth,” he said.
“This project will breathe new life into the locality, complementing the surrounding sites and the success of adjacent precincts like the Treasury, and presents an opportunity for the retention and future adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed McNess Royal Arcade and Bridal House buildings.”
Lees said the hotel addition as well as more contemporary food, beverage and entertainment offerings will help to expand the hours of activation of the nearby streets beyond the current 9am to 5pm focus.
City of Perth councillor Liam Gobbert said he was glad to see St Martins Properties’ factoring in the heritage aspect into their proposal.
“I’m very happy to support the recommendation and hopefully the four-year time frame proposed as part of the application doesn’t take that long,” he said.
Panel presiding member Dale Page said she was “very pleased” with the plans for the multimillion dollar proposal.
“This is a very prominent and important site within the heart of the city, and has frontage to three of its most prominent pedestrian thoroughfares and focal points,” she said.
“I’m especially pleased to see some adaptive reuse of the upper floors of heritage listed buildings, which have been a challenge in this area of the city in the past. I just hope that, given they’re currently planned as the last stage of works, that they are progressed and sooner rather than later.”
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