Retail Centre in Perth’s Golden Bay Greenlit

A reworked mixed-use neighbourhood shopping centre at the outer Perth suburb of Golden Bay has been approved.

Revisited plans filed by Golden Bay Village Pty Ltd were greenlit by the Metro Outer Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) for the City of Rockingham.

A refusal by the Metro Outer JDAP in July, 2023 led the applicant, identified by media as commercial developer Jarra Property, to go back to the drawing board. 

The JDAP and community stakeholders were concerned about a proposed petrol station close to two childcare centres and the exposure of children to benzene, as well as issues including the arrangement of vehicle access to the site.

After laboratory testing and other amendments to the configuration of the plans, however, things were looking brighter for the development.

The now-approved project be anchored by a 1165sq m supermarket fronting Thundelarra Drive.

The plans include three specialty retail shops with 263sq m floor space each as well as fast food outlets with drive-through facilities and a 230sq m liquor store. 

▲ Investor interest in neighbourhood shopping centres soared in the second year of the pandemic, according to Colliers.

A convenience store and service station are planned for the corner of Aurea Boulevard and Thundelarra Drive, and space for 147 carparking spots has been allocated.

The subject site is within the Golden Bay Neighbourhood Centre, about 1km south of the Secret Harbour District Centre and 1.2km west of Ennis Avenue. Golden Bay is about 60km south of the Perth CBD.

An earlier development application for the site was approved in 2016 and building had begun—a slab and steel frame are still on the site. 

However, that project did not proceed after that developer lost the anchor tenant and the site had been vacant since. 

According to Colliers, regional centres have resurfaced as the predominant retail asset of interest to investors, with total transacted value reaching $2.27 billion in 2023. 

While trading in neighbourhood centres remain significantly below historical averages as assets are tightly held, there was a resurgence of interest in neighbourhood retail from private investors, who have “demonstrated a preference for the resilient nature of the asset class”, Colliers said.