A landmark $75-million development planned to transform part of West Perth into a vibrant Italian cultural and residential hub has progressed to the early planning stages.
The “Little Italy” precinct planned for 217-225 Fitzgerald Street and 3 Lawley Street would combine 240 apartments with retail, sporting and cultural facilities, centred around an Italian-style piazza.
The project, planned for 2km north-west of the Perth CBD, would include a residential component comprising multiple buildings that, according to early planning documents, could reach up to eight storeys.
Of the 240 apartments planned, 40 would be dedicated to social and affordable housing.
A four-storey public carpark with 160 spaces is also planned for the site, currently home to Perth Soccer Club facilities and the Fitzgerald Street carpark.
According to online planning portal BCI, the project’s estimated value would be about $75 million.
The project, conceived by the WA Italian Club and Perth Soccer Club with support from the Italo-Australian Welfare and Cultural Centre and City of Vincent, aims to create an Italian cultural hub.
The development would reunite the two historic clubs while providing significant new amenities and housing options near the Perth CBD.
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Perth Soccer Club president Jason Marocchi said the collaboration aimed to “develop a sustainable future for both clubs which honours the traditions and sacrifices of the Italian community and the significant role it has played in the economic, cultural and sporting development of Western Australia”.
The sporting component would include a new 700-seat grandstand on the eastern side of Dorrien Gardens, two full-sized football pitches, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, and modern training and changing facilities.
The WA Italian Club would gain a new ballroom and function rooms, co-working commercial space, and upgraded kitchen and bar facilities.
The piazza would form the centrepiece of the development, providing public open space for community events and alfresco dining.
The retail component would include food shops and restaurants fronting the piazza, with additional Italian retail and hospitality throughout the precinct.
The ground floor of the new soccer clubrooms would accommodate hospitality uses facing the piazza, while the northern portion of the Italian Club land, fronting Fitzgerald Street, has been earmarked for future commercial development.
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The Azzurri Bocce Club would gain new competition facilities within the precinct.
WA Italian Club president Sal Vallelonga said it would create a “desired place of significance which recognises the Italian sacrifice in Western Australia [and] is long overdue”.
“It would reflect the value, legacy and 235 years of commitment to Western Australia by so many generations of Italians,” Vallelonga said.
The City of Vincent, which owns Dorrien Gardens, has been asked to contribute land to the project.
The site is under a management order to the Perth Soccer Club, which has called Dorrien Gardens home since 1951.
The Little Italy Masterplan includes additional public-focused elements such as a public active zone with playgrounds and seating along Lawley Street, and a widened connection from Fitzgerald Street through to the piazza.
Two future development sites have also been identified: one fronting Lawley Street and another combining the southern part of the Fitzgerald Street carpark with the Department of Communities site fronting Cowle Street.
The project has secured $30 million in funding from the WA Government via the Community Capital Works Fund.
The developers are targeting other tiers of government and the private sector to raise the remaining costs.
Funding applications were submitted to the state and Commonwealth in December.
The project is in early planning stages, and construction timelines are yet to be announced.
The Little Italy precinct is one of several significant urban renewal projects reshaping Perth’s inner suburbs. The East Perth Langley Park masterplan, which proposes high-density residential development to fund sports and community infrastructure, is among their number.
