Major mixed-use tower approved for East Perth as CBD revival gathers pace

A transformative mixed-use development has cleared its final approval hurdle, promising to reshape Perth's eastern CBD corridor and inject fresh momentum into a precinct that has long lagged behind comparable Australian capitals.

The $385 million project, approved by the City of Perth last week, will rise on a consolidated site along Claisebrook Road, metres from the Perth Arena and the expanding cultural precinct around the Western Australian Museum. The 42-storey tower will deliver 340 residential apartments—80 per cent slated at or below the median rental price of $2,100 per month—alongside 15,000 square metres of commercial space and ground-floor hospitality and retail.

The approval represents a calculated response to Perth's acute housing shortage and persistent sub-1 per cent vacancy rate. While median property values across the metropolitan area hover near $680,000, inner-city supply remains severely constrained. Developers have identified the East Perth precinct as critical to unlocking dormant value and reversing the decades-old pattern of CBD depopulation.

"The planning framework now supports the kind of density we've needed around transport nodes," said the City of Perth in a statement, noting that the project satisfied updated design guidelines endorsed in March 2026.

The development will incorporate 250 secure car parking spaces below ground, rooftop shared gardens, and direct pedestrian connections to the riverside path system that links Claisebrook to the Swan. Notably, architects have incorporated heritage-sensitive streetscape treatments acknowledging the site's proximity to the historic Brewery Lane precinct and the emerging creative quarter anchored by QEII Medical Centre to the east.

Market analysts see the approval as a watershed moment. With three comparable projects in planning phases around Northbridge and St Georges Terrace, Perth's CBD is finally attracting the residential density that has eluded it during the mining boom years, when investment flowed west to Joondalup and north to Wanneroo.

"The momentum we're seeing reflects genuine demand," said Michael Shorten, chief economist at Real Estate Institute of WA. "Young professionals and empty-nesters want walkable proximity to employment, culture and hospitality. East Perth's got that in spades now."

Construction is expected to commence in early 2027, with completion targeted for 2030. The project represents the first major greenfield approval under Perth's refreshed 2024-2031 planning strategy, and industry figures are watching closely to see whether it catalyses the anticipated second wave of CBD renewal.

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