Elders Wool Stores in Fremantle due for one of WA’s biggest heritage redevelopments

The derelict Elders Wool Stores in central Fremantle will undergo a $110 million transformation — primarily into housing — in one of the biggest heritage redevelopments in WA history. A development application has been lodged to turn the long-dormant building into a mixed use offering, with 70 per cent set aside for housing and the rest for hospitality venues and offices. If approved, the proposed seven-storey structure will significantly add to housing stock with more than 200 new abodes, with some operating under a new European-style rental model designed to counter isolation in the community. It has been proposed by Human Urban — led by high profile developers Adrian Fini and Kyle Jeavons — who promise it will be a sophisticated and sensitive development. “It will celebrate the best of what Fremantle has to offer,” Mr Jeavons said. But it will also maintain a little of its grit, with the almost 100-year-old building to keep some of the famous wall posters that have adorned it in the four decades since the wool stores closed. For heritage aficionados, the redevelopment offers a rare chance to buy an apartment in a pre-war, warehouse-style heritage building, amid the dearth of local stock. “There is no question that this is the last opportunity to buy an apartment or townhouse in a heritage building of this importance and scale,” he said. The project seeks to repurpose the Wool Stores’ two existing structures built in 1927 and in the 1950s and to add three extra floors. The transformation will deliver up to eight hospitality venues, including a tavern, a café and a restaurant. It will also include about 6,600sqm of office space, adorned by exposed original timber beams, columns and a third-floor garden terrace. The housing component will include six townhouses and 33 apartments, including three penthouses, which will be sold on the open market. A further 174 self-contained rental units which will form part of a new style of living in WA called co-living, which is emerging across the globe as a new housing type. The 30sqm units will operate under a centralised rental model with a focus on a creating a sense of community through shared areas, like kitchens, dining areas and breakout zones, as well as a centrally co-ordinated calendar of social events, such a movie nights and wellness workshops. While the units will each have their own kitchenette and bathroom, Mr Jeavons said the communal approach was chosen to help counter the growing sense of personal disconnection. “There is isolation in the community and it is worsened by digital life,” he said. “Co-living can bring people together to live with a level of companionship and belonging, if they don’t know a lot of people in the community. “It is a very European way of living. Some places have been living like this for hundreds of years – it is probably just new for Perth.” Unlike Perth CBD’s co-living Switch tower, where most apartments include multiple bedrooms in a house-share arrangement, the single bedroom units planned at the Wool Stores further enhance the communal focus. The model also differs from built-to-rent schemes which tend to have bigger apartments and which target long-term tenants, with the flexible leases at the co-living spaces likely to appeal to shorter-term renters, like students and key workers. While the building is yet to win planning approval, Mr Jeavons said he did not expect community backlash against the additional three floors, taking it to a seven-floor height. He said the major development challenges were dealing with buildings that were “as close as possible to being derelict”, as well as dealing with the a lack of natural sunlight amid the heritage protection on the 1927-building. “If it wasn’t supported, it would probably remain standing for another 40 years,” he said. Human Urban had initially collaborated with some east coast architects but ultimately decided to engage local Fremantle architecture firm Spaceagency, which has vast heritage experience. Mr Jeavons said while the project, if approved, would likely commence construction in 2026 and be completed by 2028, discussions were already afoot with potential hospitality operators. Elders Wool Stores was purchased by H-U in February 2022. It is more expensive – following the surge in construction costs – than the $105 million redevelopment of the State Buildings in the city a decade ago, conducted by the same team. Developer Adrian Fini is emerging as a key figure in Fremantle, through his eateries Bread in Common and the nearby Coogee Common. Recent hospitality collaborations including Ode to Sirens, Vin Populi and Common Bakery. He is also developing 49 Phillimore St and has plans for the former P&O hotel. A builder has not yet been appointed.