This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) has approved the $792 million expansion of Westfield Booragoon, which will make the southern Perth shopping centre the state’s biggest.
Approval follows lodgements of plans in 2015 that were never begun, while a $500 million plan put forward in late 2021 would have increased the size of the centre from 72,000 sqm to 109,375 sqm – just 235 sqm smaller than Westfield Carousel.
But Westfield Booragoon is now set to the title, with the approved expansion coming at the expense of Melville Library.
Westfield Booragoon will be the latest Perth shopping centre to undergo redevelopment since the WAPC approved the $1.08 billion expansion of Cockburn Gateway Shopping City through the pathway in October of 2021.
Twenty projects worth more than $2.66 billion have now been approved through the state government’s Part 17 development pathway, and another 31 projects worth $2.96 billion are currently in the Part 17 pathway.
The state government introduced the temporary Part 17 pathway in May of 2020 in response to COVID-19 outbreak to stimulate major construction projects and support a pipeline of jobs. The pathway is open to projects worth $20 million or more in the metropolitan area and $5 million or more in the regions.
Last June, the pathway was extended to the end of 2023 along with the introduction of a one-off extension of time for approved developments in response to industry pressures.
Other approvals include the State Football Centre in Queens Park, which will be complete for the FIFA Women’s World Cup running from July to August, extension of a wharf at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, and an LNG plant in the Mid-West which was completed last year, among $70 million worth of regional projects.
“The expansion of the popular and iconic Westfield Booragoon Shopping Centre will create some outstanding new retail opportunities, as well as improve amenity for the local community with the redevelopment’s new leisure, hospitality and entertainment precinct,” Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said.
Each application through the Part 17 pathway is subject to consideration by the State Design Review Panel, reviewed against the relevant local planning framework and State planning policies, public consultation and referral to regulatory authorities to inform the final determination by the WAPC.
