Lend Lease signs deal for $1 billion Perth riverside project to feature 600 apartments

Construction of Lend Lease’s $1 billion Waterbank urban regeneration project featuring 600 apartments on the shores of the Swan River adjacent to the Perth CBD is set to commence in 2014 following a deal inked with the Perth’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority. 

The formal signing of the Project Development Agreement (PDA) follows Lend Lease’s selection in November 2011 as the preferred developer of the project, which dates back to 2008.

The Riverside project, designed by architects Hassell, is situated on a six-hectare site on the banks of the Swan River and is one of the city’s key urban regeneration projects. 

Upon completion in 2021 the staged development is proposed to include over 600 residential apartments, commercial office space, a hotel, a variety of retail uses and substantial public spaces. 

Concept sketches show two high-rise buildings and a host of smaller buildings featuring a row of retail and restaurants on the ground floor in a curve around a beach and gardens, with a dining pier jutting out into the river.

According Hassell, the site will also feature a town square area and a wetlands area. 

“We are delighted to have finalised an agreement with the MRA to deliver this project,” says Lend Lease group chief executive officer and managing director Steve McCann. 

“Lend Lease has significant experience in major waterfront and urban regeneration projects, both within Australia and overseas and we will leverage this expertise to deliver a world-class solution for the people of Perth.”

Lend Lease’s other major waterfront project is the $2 billion development of Barangaroo in Sydney Harbour. 

Lend Lease will now work closely with the MRA in the design and planning for the project ahead of the expected commencement of construction in 2014.