$80 million Scarborough beachfront complex given green light

Scarborough’s ever-changing waterfront is set to gain yet another apartment development after the state’s planning body gave Perth developer Gary Dempsey’s $80 million Myka Residences project the green light.

The proposal, spearheaded by Dempsey via his entity Goldrise Nominees, was given the formal tick of approval unanimously during a meeting of the Metro-Inner Development Assessment Panel on Wednesday.

Myka Residences, spearheaded by Gary Dempsey, will comprise 21 apartments across 12 storeys.Credit: DKO Architecture.

The development, earmarked for a 1520-square metre block on the corner of Brighton Road and The Esplanade, will see the existing three-storey residential dwelling demolished to make way for a 12-storey residential development.

The build comprises 21 three-to-four bedroom apartments, 55 car bays, a communal open space and a landscaped terrace on the ground floor.

The top floor will be occupied by a penthouse spanning more than 500-square-metres and sporting panoramic ocean views.

Marketed as ‘luxury downsizer-friendly’, the apartment complex is located directly adjacent to Scarborough’s beachfront and a stone’s throw from the public pool and entertainment precinct.

Though the development application cited a value of around $30.5 million, the project is expected to have an end value of $80 million.

It took four expert review panel sessions and several design iterations for the plan, compiled by DKO Architecture, to achieve design excellence.

But that became one of the key reasons the plan gained the backing of the City of Stirling, which recommended the panel approve the development application subject to a host of conditions.

However, the four-week community consultation period leading up to that decision indicated not everyone was sold on the plan, with 70 per cent of the 87 submission received opposing it.

The build comprises 21 three-to-four bedroom apartments, 55 car bays, a communal open space, an outdoor shower and a landscaped terrace on the ground floor.

The majority of those objecting to the development did so on the basis the height was “excessive” and did not provide for affordable housing, its potential to exacerbate existing traffic congestion and fears of issues with noise and overshadowing on neighbouring properties.

City officers deemed the height acceptable because the development had met the necessary criteria.

And the developer insisted the plan was consistent with the area’s “evolving character”, pointing to approved developments of between 18 and 46 storeys along the coastline, including the 3 Oceans development and the proposal earmarked for the White Sands site.

Panel members Francesca Lefante, Lee O’Donohue and John Syme all expressed support for the development, which they dubbed extremely well-designed, appropriate and a “bonus” in the location.

The site has long been earmarked for development, with Dempsey initially foreshadowing a $50 million, 15-storey development at 194 The Esplanade back in 2019 alongside venture partner Cape Bouvard after buying the site for $6.7 million.

Dempsey later acquired full ownership of the site before revamping the plan.

In a statement, Dempsey said the company had received a record number of registrations of interest and enquiries despite the formal marketing campaign not being scheduled to begin until April.

“I think there is generally a higher level of positivity in the market at the moment with prices beginning to be more reflective of construction costs, which makes it feasible to undertake projects like this again,” he said.

“The demand for developments pitched at this level continues to grow and to date, there has been a major under supply.

“Scarborough and surrounding waterfront suburbs have tended to consistently exclude those who are seeking luxurious, private apartments of significant size, forcing a section of the market to remain in larger, high maintenance homes which is one of the factors highlighted by successive governments to free up much-needed housing stock.”

Construction is set to start in the final quarter of 2024.

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