Can you picture Mandurah’s Smart Street transformed into a buzzing commercial hub for local businesses and offices, and the council buildings being relocated to Mewburn site to make room for an active and vibrant culture and arts precinct around Mandjar Square?
The City of Mandurah councillors voted in favour to adopt a new vision for the city centre’s future on Tuesday night, which would see an entire city centre transformation.
The new plan for Mandurah’s future would follow the guidelines drafted by the Peel Development Commission (PDC) in their Peel Regional Investment Blueprint 2050, and would focus on enhancing Mandurah as the ‘central hub of a vibrant region’.
The City would be divided into four major precincts, each of those catering for different needs and demographics but connected to each other through a network of pedestrian paths.
The Ocean Marina precinct would focus on leisure retail, entertainment and accommodation, while the Smart Street would become the heart of Mandurah’s retail in the city centre.
The City’s arts and culture precinct would grow around Mandjar Square to include more than the cinema and the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, and a more quiet and family-oriented area would concentrate around the western foreshore.
The project would also involve the relocation of the council chambers and administration building from Mandurah Terrace to Smart Street’s commercial precinct, an estimated $50 million move.
Mandurah’s councillors resolved to seek for State Government funding in order to deliver the project, and committed to provide City owned land in freehold for the redevelopment.
The resolution was also amended to include Fred Riebeling’s suggestion to create a a redevelopment authority.
According to Mr Riebeling, the proximity to election time would facilitate optimal conditions for the new group to lobby for the proposal with the State Government.
“It gives us hope, especially if we put together a plan,” he said.
Councillor Lynn Rodgers supported Mr Reibeling’s approach, and highlighted the importance of bringing new industry to the region to fight Mandurah’s high unemployment rate.
It is still unclear what the timeframe would be for the project.
According to the City’s report the relocation of the administration buildings requires a significant contribution from the State Government ‘for it to occur in the foreseeable future’.
However, the City could engage in a collaborative process with the community to address some immediate issues around Smart Street.
Marta Pascual Juanola
Photojournalist from Barcelona, currently based in WA. Five languages speaker: English - Català - Español - Norsk - العربية.
Photojournalist from Barcelona, currently based in WA. Five languages speaker: English - Català - Español - Norsk - العربية.
