A new major university campus located within the heart of the state's capital would be an economic game changer for the City of Perth and Western Australia.
Announced this week by the Federal and State Governments, the 'City Deal' aims to increase the population density of the CBD to directly support food and beverage, retail and local business sectors.
City of Perth Chair Commissioner Andrew Hammond said a capital city based university would allow Perth to compete with the likes of Sydney and Melbourne.
"The City is aware that Edith Cowan University is currently exploring options for the development of a creative industries campus in the CBD, possibly Yagan Square," Chair Commissioner Hammond said.
"The scale of a tertiary education development of this size would be greater than anything that's ever been seen before, catering for around 6,000 students and 1,000 staff attending the facility each day.
"Economic data suggest students would spend almost $70 million a year within the local economy, and visiting relatives and friends, would spend around $4 million.
"This endeavour would add enormous value to the city's day and night time economies, and would be the catalyst that we are all looking for to stimulate our population growth so we can better underpin our core retail area."
More than 2,000 jobs would also be created during the construction phase of a campus, attracting more workers into the CBD which would further benefit local traders and businesses.
"The City has long identified the opportunity for a major university campus to be based in Perth and is committed to working with the State and Federal Governments, Edith Cowan University and all tertiary institutions to reach what would be a significant outcome," Chair Commissioner Hammond said.
