Perth Tower Delayed and $1.6B Convention Centre Scrapped

Two of Perth’s most significant city-shaping projects have hit critical turning points, with plans for the city’s tallest tower delayed by at least two years and the $1.6 billion redevelopment of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre discontinued.

Singaporean developer Fragrance Group has lodged an application to extend the commencement date for its approved 59-storey hotel at 36 St Georges Terrace and 10 Pier Street.

GALLERY  

The project, approved in 2016 for a site behind St Andrew’s Uniting Church, must currently begin construction by 8 December this year. Fragrance Group is seeking to push that deadline to 2027.

If delivered, the 500-room hotel would become Perth’s tallest tower. However, Element Advisory associate planner George Ashton said market conditions had shifted dramatically since the project’s original 2017 budget.

“There were significant construction cost escalations of more than 50 per cent since the original project budget was drawn up in 2017,” Ashton said in the planning statement.

He cited the collapse of Probuild and a strategic shift by Multiplex towards infrastructure and government projects as contributing to a shortage of tier-one contractors capable of delivering a project of this scale and complexity. Despite the delay, Fragrance Group has reaffirmed its commitment to the Perth CBD, where it previously completed the Novotel Perth in 2019 and is progressing two student accommodation developments near the new Edith Cowan University City Campus.

Meanwhile, the WA Government has formally discontinued the long-anticipated redevelopment of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, first announced in January 2024. Although around $35 million had been spent on planning and early works were approved by the City of Perth in July, the project required more than $500 million in associated rail and road upgrades before construction could commence.

WA Premier Roger Cook said the state could not justify the significant investment, instead redirecting funds to a $1.5 billion Building Hospitals Fund. Opened in 2004, PCEC remains the oldest convention centre in Australia without a major redevelopment. It is leased by Wyllie and Brookfield until 2039, with the joint venture previously exploring upgrade pathways alongside the state.

Images via The Urban Developer

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