Forrest Files Fremantle Hotel Plans

Andrew Forrest’s Fiveight has revealed its plans for a hotel in the heart of Fremantle.

The planned hotel will be on an open-air carpark site on the corner of William and Henderson streets, next to the food court behind the Sail and Anchor pub and opposite the Fremantle Markets.

The 2834sq m site was purchased by Fiveight’s entity Spicer Street in 2018 for $7.6 million. It was the site of the four-storey Spicer and Detmold building built in 1889 which was demolished in the 1970s.

The site is listed as having historic significance with some historic elements, such as a limestone rendered wall, potentially dating to 1852 and these will be incorporated into the design.

The Smart Design Studio plans filed with the city council show a six-storey, 117-room hotel with a ground floor lobby, retail space, rooftop terrace, pool and one basement level for 48 car parking spaces.

The U-shaped building will feature a central open-air courtyard. 

More than 75 per cent of the rooms will have balconies and Six of the rooms will be accessible. 

There is also the potential for an art gallery to be part of the hotel.

The proposed hotel will follow the City of Fremantle’s guidelines for sustainable development with the rooftop space maximised for solar power generation. 

▲ A render of Fiveight planned hotel in the heart of Fremantle. Source: Fiveight

Forrest spent $15 million in 2018 on Fremantle sites, picking up the Bar Orient on High Street for $4.6 million and 45 Phillimore Street for $2.7 million as well as the site for the planned hotel. 

The office building on Phillimore Street is currently leased to the Commonwealth Government.

Fiveight initially made the deal to purchase the site from Sirona Capital in 2013 but delays on other projects stalled that deal. 

Sirona Capital is the developer behind Fremantle’s Kings Square revitalisation project. 

Investment flowed into Fremantle after the council removed two to three-storey height restrictions in some pockets of the city centre in 2013. 

Fremantle now has a $1-billion pipeline of developments.

The Fremantle hotel announcement follows news of Forrest’s plans for a residential community at Binningup and the proposed acquisition and redevelopment of Perth’s Carillion City Tower.