Urban Developer: Rising Tide of Luxury Apartments Washes Over Perth’s Coastal Hotspots

Hillam Architects principal David Hillam is featured in The Urban Developer, speaking about coastal apartment development in Western Australia.

Our practice has significant experience in this area, with a successful development application for an Ocean Beach Hotel redevelopment in Cottesloe, and Delos Way in Sorrento currently out for public consultation. Simultaneously, Hillam-designed projects of this type are already under construction with The Dunes in Scarborough, and Claytons Mindarie Beachfront apartments in the Mindarie Marina.

Below is an extract from the article. You can read the full article (paywalled) HERE.

Clearly, development is continuing at pace, but there are issues holding it back, including a long-standing antipathy towards high-rise development in Perth’s suburbs.

Hilliam Architects principal and co-owner of Edge Visionary Living David Hillam says it’s a relatively slow process of transition but “there’s no doubt” it is happening.

“There is a growing acknowledgement that greater density is appropriate in these locations,” he says

Perth, unlike Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, has always had less in the way of medium and high-rise infill development and indeed typologies other than a detached home, but this appears to be changing.

“There is a general acknowledgement that there is an undersupply of apartments compared to capital cities,” says Hillam.

“While the percentage of people in apartments is still low in Perth, the extent of urban sprawl on infrastructure is making living further out less attractive, so there is definitely demand from downsizers and also young people who want to live where they know they’re going to get amenity in terms facilities and walkability.”