Sirona Urban Greenlit for $200m Cottesloe Development

Developer Sirona Urban has cleared a major planning hurdle for its $200-million Cottesloe town centre development after securing approval from the Western Australian Planning Commission on June 19.

The commission endorsed the 3200sq m mixed-use project at 7-11 Station Street, 11km west of the Perth CBD.

It would deliver a 128-key luxury lifestyle hotel and 125 apartments across buildings reaching 15 and 17 storeys, with ground-level retail and hospitality spaces connected via a new laneway linking Napoleon Street to the railway station precinct.

The hotel is described as a “boutique lifestyle hotel” and while Sirona Urban has yet to announce the operator, McNeilly told The Urban Developer “we’re in discussions with several of the world’s leading hotel operators”.

“This will be incredible for both Cottesloe and Western Australia,” he said.

The approval is a significant planning victory for Sirona Urban, which first lodged development applications for the site in late 2021.

The project has undergone multiple design revisions during the assessment process to address planning requirements and community considerations.

Sirona Urban managing director Matthew McNeilly said the commission recognised the development’s potential to transform Cottesloe into “a world-class, mixed-use precinct”.

He said the project would create an 18-hour economy serving residents and visitors while relieving development pressure on coastal areas.

The development aligns with planning frameworks that state Cottesloe would need at least 970 additional homes by 2050 to meet the needs of its growing population.

The Perth and Peel @ 3.5 million framework, released by the state government in 2018, provides long-term planning strategy to accommodate 3.5 million people across the Perth and Peel regions by 2050.

Planning policy designates the station precinct as a District Centre suitable for medium and high-density housing.

McNeilly drew parallels of this development with Sirona Urban’s Fremantle projects, including the award-winning Walyalup Koort development—a finalist in the 2023 Urban Developer Awards for Industry Excellence, Development of the Year, Mixed-Use—that incorporated civic facilities and the FOMO entertainment complex.

▲ The Walyalup Koort redevelopment was the largest public-private infrastructure project in the city’s history.

The company has invested more than $200 million in Fremantle’s urban renewal, establishing credentials for large-scale precinct transformations.

The Cottesloe approval comes after the commission previously rejected several high-profile coastal developments, making planning success particularly significant for the developer.

Local planning frameworks have evolved to support increased density within designated town centres while protecting heritage and coastal character.

The development addresses identified accommodation gaps in Perth’s western suburbs, particularly for business and leisure visitors to Cottesloe’s beach precinct.

“We don’t have a boutique lifestyle hotel in Perth, and we think Cottesloe is the right place to try,” McNeilly said.

The development would replace existing lowrise retail buildings with contemporary mixed-use towers designed to activate street frontages and create pedestrian connectivity.

Construction timelines and contractor selection are yet to be announced.

▲ Rendering of the precinct Sirona Urban has proposed for the South Perth site.

McNeilly highlighted the project’s broader urban renewal objectives, describing it as part of efforts to create more complete communities with diverse housing, employment and entertainment options.

The commission’s decision means Sirona Urban can now move on to detailed design development and begin marketing for residential and commercial components of the precinct transformation.

The Cottesloe approval is one of two major projects in Sirona Urban’s current development pipeline, with the company also reviving a $120-million apartment tower at South Perth after previously mothballing the project due to construction cost increases.