Town of East Fremantle set to sell properties to pay for oval redevelopment

It’s footy parlance to ‘sell the farm’ to recruit a sporting superstar but it’s turning out to be not too different when it comes to upgrading a football oval. The Town of East Fremantle is selling two council-owned properties along its funky George Street strip to help cover the ballooning cost of its multi-million dollar East Fremantle Oval redevelopment. The oval overhaul was costed as a $26.5 million project in January last year and importantly fully-funded thanks primarily to $20 million from the State Government. DISCOVER THE LATEST NEWS FROM YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH PERTHNOW DIGITAL EDITIONS But within six months the construction figure had blown out by more than $8m — for exactly the same design — proving that footy and councils are not immune to the sharply rising costs being felt right across WA’s building and construction industry. The financial blow-out has already cost the precinct a planned community hall and shaved space from both a function centre and a new clubhouse for the WAFL’s East Fremantle Sharks when they return after spending the next two seasons based at the WACA Ground. But council authorities believe the forced changes have ultimately led to an improved overall layout, including a green corridor through the middle of the site that will line up the bowling greens and croquet courts with the football oval. The savings plus others identified during a review have also reduced the current estimated price tag from as high as $35m to a still-inflated $31.8m. In an optimistic sign, a spokesperson for Sports and Recreation Minister David Templeman told PerthNow this week the Government would consider putting in more money to help with the shortfall and reiterated its commitment to seeing the redevelopment through. Which is good news because council officers were clear that if additional money can’t be found, the makeover won’t be as big as first announced or even as shown in current plans. “In the event the additional funding cannot be secured, the project budget will revert to $26.5 million, and a further report will be provided to council outlining further possible project options,” a report this month stated. The revamp promises a dramatic overhaul of the sporting precinct by refurbishing multiple club facilities and opening up the oval and its surrounds for the public to use. The Sharks — who are the precinct’s major tenant, along with a lawn bowls and a croquet club — say their premises will still meet the standard for WAFL compliance. The footy oval’s grandstands are being torn down and replaced and fences around the facility eventually will be removed to allow free public access to future football games, which would be a first for the WAFL. The target remains to have the works completed by the end of 2023 and certainly before the start of the 2024 WAFL season. East Fremantle council owns 128 and 128A George Street, just a Nat Fyfe punt from the Royal George Hotel. The decision to sell the two prime location buildings was confirmed at this month’s council meeting. It’s hoped the sales will realise $1.5m, with $1m of that to be put towards the oval redevelopment and $500,000 to improve parking in and around George Street. 128A is leased by Lantern Architecture, which was involved in the redesign of Perth bar The Flour Factory and was commissioned to redo the Fremantle Cricket Club building. The other property was most recently used by a production company that assists advertising agencies.

Town of East Fremantle set to sell properties to pay for oval redevelopment

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