Dempsey unveils $80m Scarborough plan — Gary Dempsey Developments

By Nadia Budihardjo

Gary Dempsey is proposing to build a 12-storey apartment building in Scarborough. Image: DKO Architects

Gary Dempsey has submitted a proposal for a 12-storey apartment building in Scarborough, with an expected end value of $80 million. The architect has lodged an application for a 21-apartment development, to be named Myka Residences, to be built on 194 The Esplanade.

Gary Dempsey Developments acquired the 1,500 square metre site on the corner of Brighton Road and The Esplanade from former venture partner Cape Bouvard Developments in 2020.

The Scarborough area was under DevelopmentWA control for several years until a recent transfer of approval authority to City of Stirling, in a process called normalisation.

Mr Dempsey’s proposed apartment project, designed by DKO Architects, will be among the first proposals to be considered by the city after the recent transfer of power.

“Traditionally Scarborough has been home to higher density apartment developments with one or two bedrooms while our project is specifically aimed at families looking to downsize from larger family homes typically from the surrounding coastal suburbs," Mr Dempsey said.

“We believe that this project will fill a gap and tap into a buyer market that just hasn’t been able to find what they want in this area and with an entry price in excess of $3 million, it’s going to appeal to quite a specific demographic.” Mr Dempsey said the proposed development would be 100 per cent owner occupier, with two apartments per level and no bar or restaurant tenancies on the ground floor.

“This development is definitely more aligned with the calibre and size of the apartments that you see on theSouth Perth waterfront and that are likely to attract buyers at the higher end who are not willing to downsize tothose larger blocks of apartments that have tended to dominate in Scarborough,” he said.

“We’ve also made a conscious decision at this stage not to incorporate communal pools or gyms in this project,although there will be an upscale residents’ lounge that owners can utilise.

“In my experience the sort of people who will buy into this level of development go to private gyms off site orhave the space to set up their own within their apartment."

Construction of the project is expected to start in the mid to second half of 2024.

In 2017, Cape Bouvard Developments received approval from the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority for its12-storey luxury apartment proposal on the 194 The Esplanade site.

Data from CoreLogic shows Cape Bouvard Developments bought the site for $6.1 million in 2007.

Business News previously reported Mr Dempsey and Cape Bouvard struck an agreement to transfer the propertyin late 2020, with CoreLogic data showing the site was acquired for $7.7 million in June 2021.

Scarborough coastline

Projects in the Scarborough area have been subject to some contention in the neighbourhood, with majority ofthe concerns revolving around the proposed height.

The city's local planning framework imposes a 12-storey limit for the Scarborough area but projects approved inthe past couple of years have exceeded that height.

In early 2021, DevelopmentWA green-lit Sentinel Property Group's 24-storey mixed-use tower plan, valued at$68 million, on the corner of West Coast Highway and Manning Street.

DevelopmentWA approved Woolworths Group's $120 million plan to build two towers of 29 and 12 storeys at theWhite Sands Tavern site along West Coast Highway in June 2021.

QS Developments’ application for a 18-storey apartment building, a 12-storey hotel and five-storey mixed-usedevelopment at 22-26 Brighton Road was approved in February this year.

A 17-storey project on 291 West Coast Highway, dubbed Brighton Apartments, was also approved by theDevelopmentWA board in June.

International developer 3 Oceans submitted a plan for a three-tower build, the tallest at 46 storeys, at thecorner of Scarborough Beach Road, West Coast Highway and Filburn Street.

However, the $450 million application was withdrawn in 2022.

Mr Dempsey's project will be one of the first Scarborough proposals to be considered by the Joint DevelopmentAssessment Panel after the transfer of control from DevelopmentWA to the city.

“While many of the other developments on the Scarborough waterfront are significantly higher in both densityand height, we have decided with this project to conform to the City of Stirling’s height policy and not to pushfor additional levels or an increase in the number of dwellings which would have put us outside the city’sapproval system,” Mr Dempsey said.