State planners approve $10 million Fast Eddys replacement project

A $10 million tourist development has been given the green light to overhaul the long-dormant Fast Eddys site in Perth’s CBD.

The Metro Joint Development Assessment Panel unanimously supported the proposal on Tuesday to build a seven-storey mixed-used development at 454 Murray Street.

Panel members said the proposal for 68 tourist and visitor accommodation units and a ground floor café was well-designed and hoped guests would be able to get a “Reuben sandwich” to honour the former late night institution.

Speaking on behalf of the applicant Urbanista Town Planning, Petar Mrdja said he knew people would feel the absence of Fast Eddys after it is knocked down.

“Some in the community will feel the loss of the fast old Fast Eddys building. That is understood,” he said.

“What this application delivers in its place is additional visitor accommodation, an active street front, and support for the retail, entertainment, and nighttime economy of the City Place precinct.

“The proposal puts that underused land use back to work with short stay accommodation and an active ground floor.”

Fast Eddys was once an institution for a late-night bite to eat in Perth’s CBD before it closed its doors in 2019.

The development proposal says the building would typically accommodate 12 rooms per floor with each room containing a bed, kitchenette and bathroom.

The ground floor would contain the reception area, lobby, café tenancy and dining areas, while level one would have eight one-bed rooms alongside a gym and staff office areas.

Levels two to six would have 12 one-bed rooms per floor and level seven would contain two two-bedroom units

Of the 64 rooms, 14 rooms would have access to a balcony or outdoor terrace.

Mrdja said the tourist accommodation will be the main factor of the apartments.

“It’ll provide pretty much tourist service accommodation. But there is the opportunity also for short-stay [accommodation as well],” he said.

Deputy presiding member Dale Page said the application came at a great time as people had been inquiring what was happening at the Fast Eddys site.

“I’ve actually recently been asked, it wasn’t even a couple of weeks ago, if I knew what was happening with this prominent site, given it’s been dormant for some time, and I really didn’t know. But now I do, so it’s good to see this proposal before us for consideration,” she said.

“I’m happy to go back to the person who asked me after this meeting with the good news.”

Page said she would have liked to have seen the development be on a larger scale, but acknowledged the difficulties for the irregularly shaped plot of land.

“I understand [the architects] reasoning for the scale that we have, given the size of the site, and I understand that we can’t compel more at this stage, so I’m happy with the proposal as submitted,” she said.

Panel member Peter Lee said he was also supportive of the project, despite being sad to see the former site knocked down.

“I’m very supportive of this project, I am someone who feels the loss of Fast Eddys, and hopefully, there’ll be a Reuben sandwich on the menu of whoever goes in there,” he said.

“I think this end of the city is actually continually improving, and it would be really great if that could happen everywhere. And this is an important corner on that that section.”

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