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Strategy
Raine Square is a site of 1.2 hectares situated in the heart of the Perth CBD. With frontage to four streets and home to a number of heritage-listed buildings, the site offered an exciting opportunity to embark upon a comprehensive urban renewal project that would not only maximise the site’s commercial development potential but also deliver a range of community benefits to the City.
These community benefits include:
- Conservation and restoration of the Royal and Wentworth Hotels, the William Street commercial buildings, the frontage of the former Hob Nob building, and the building at 10 to 12 Queen Street;
- Interpretation of the site’s history through public art and commemorative plaques. including a statue of the late ‘Ma Raine’ (founder of the Raine Foundation - a significant contributor to the University of Western Australia);
- Provision of a public plaza fronting Murray Street; and
- Creation of though-pedestrian connections, including a subterranean link below William Street to Perth underground rail station.
The delivery of these community benefits was a critical factor in the City of Perth’s decision to approve the development and award a significant plot ratio bonus. The approved development comprises some 65,000 m2 of commercial floor area, including a retail arcade, multi-level office tower set behind podium heritage buildings, and a basement car park with public and tenant car bays, loading dock, bicycle parking bays and end-of-journey facilities for cyclists.
Town Planning
Saracen Properties engaged a consultant team to design the project and obtain all necessary statutory planning and heritage approvals. Greg Rowe and Associates acted as lead consultant and co-ordinated the statutory approval processes.
Greg Rowe and Associates successfully negotiated planning and heritage outcomes to the satisfaction of the client and relevant agencies, including the City of Perth (Design Advisory Committee, Planning Committee and Council), Heritage Council of Western Australia (Development Committee), and Department for Planning and Infrastructure.
Other consultants engaged during the approval process included Bollig Design Group (Project Architect), Hocking Planning and Architecture (Heritage Architect) and Transcore (Traffic Engineering).
