Saracen Drops Gym from Perth Northern Beaches Scheme

Perth developer Saracen has dropped a gymnasium from its planned $22.745-million shopping centre in Perth’s northern beaches after objections were lodged about potential noise from the planned 24-7 fitness centre.

At a meeting of Western Australia’s Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel on Wednesday, Saracen filed a variation to its 2023-approved commercial centre on a 12,246 sq m lot at the corner of Marina Boulevard and Venturi Drive at Ocean Beach.

Before it was circulated for public comment, the amendment had included replacement of Saracen’s planned and approved child care centre at the site with a 24-hour gymnasium. But after three objections to the gym were received, Saracen proposed replacing the child care centre with consulting rooms instead.

Representing Saracen at the panel meeting, Urbis director Megan Gammon said the amendment was due to the developer “advancing its tenancy leasing program, its detailed design and its feasibility asessment”.

“Ultimately this amendment ... is minor,” she said. Saracen developments director Jason Potalivo was also at the meeting.

“It will ensure the development is financially feasible and it will allow Saracen to get out on site literally in the next couple of weeks.”

Gammon said the amendment, which also included changes to parking and to the four-level structure itself, was “very typical of shopping centre redevelopments”.

“There is obviously a vision at the start but that does change as you move through the detailed process, so that’s why we’ve ended up with what we’re proposing today,” she said.

Panel member and City of Joondalup councillor Adrian Hill noted there had been “some concern” about potential noise from the planned gym.

“But obviously by changing from a 24-hour gym to consulting rooms, that alleviates the concerns raised generally by the community consultation,” he said.

Gammon agreed and added that acoustic work done on the planned gym had showed it would have met noise regulations.

In moving that the amendment be accepted, Hill said he was confident that any community concerns about the project were “no longer particularly relevant”.

“I am sure that the wider community of the area are keen to see it progress,” he said.

The amendment, which was unanimously approved, will result in a reduction from 8070sq m to 7154sq m of net lettable floor area.

The project now includes a service station and fast food outlet that have already been built, a supermarket, pharmacy, liquor store, retail outlets and consulting rooms.

Among seven public submissions received on Saracen’s amended proposal, one supported the gymnasium.