The streetscape in Fremantle's East End is about to undergo a dramatic change, with buildings in the Westgate Mall set to be demolished to make way for a new residential apartment development.
The Little Lane development by Fremantle-based Yolk Property Group will include 70 apartments and 500 square metres of ground floor commercial space for shops and cafes.
The internal demolition of the former Spotlight building on Adelaide Street is already underway, with the external walls due to start coming down by the end of the month.
Yolk Property Group Director Pete Adams said he was excited to be a part of the rejuvenation of Fremantle's East End.
"Our aim is basically to reactivate the Westgate Mall and this part of Fremantle, which has obviously been reasonably degraded for the past 20 years or so," Mr Adams said.
"When the project is completed towards the end of 2021 we'll have about 110 to 120 people living here, and then 100 metres away you've got Kings Square and the Department of Communities moving into the office there with around 1700 to 2000 employees.
"Fremantle has always been a great place to develop but it's really been about when, so the Kings Square redevelopment has given us that encouragement.
"You can see the council and Sirona and other developers like Silverleaf putting a lot of money into Fremantle and it just gives you that belief.
"It's an absolute no-brainer to invest in Fremantle right now."
Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said it was satisfying to see the council's plans to attract more people to live and work in Fremantle coming to fruition.
"Many years ago the council recognised that Fremantle had stagnated and we needed to do something to make the city a more attractive investment destination, get more people living and working here and get the local economy going again," Mayor Pettitt said.
"One of the main aims of our decision to partner with Sirona Capital on the Kings Square Renewal project was for the project to be the catalyst for the revitalisation of the rest of Fremantle, particularly in the run down parts of the East End.
"It takes a long time to turn these things around, and we've been pushing against some pretty strong economic headwinds, but it's really exciting to now see projects like Little Lane getting underway."
The City of Fremantle is currently undertaking the $270 million renewal of Kings Square in partnership with Sirona Capital.
The project includes Sirona's redevelopment of the old Myer and Queensgate sites to create offices for more than 1700 state government employees and the revolutionary FOMO food, art and retail concept, the construction of the City of Fremantle's new Walyalup Civic Centre, and the rejuvenation of the public spaces that surround the site.
In addition to Little Lane, Yolk Property Group is also building WA's first mass timber-framed office building on the corner of High and Josephson Streets.
Opposite Kings Square another Fremantle-based developer, Silverleaf Investments, is putting the finishing touches on the restoration of the historic Manning Buildings.
The upper floors of the Manning Buildings, which have been largely vacant for more than 80 years, will accommodate around 400 new office workers.
