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Subiaco takes another step towards its new life with Subi Oval reopening

Source: WA Today

The newly refurbished Subiaco Oval officially opened to the public on Thursday, marking the next step in Subi’s resurrection from ghost town to CBD gateway.

For the first time in decades, members of the general public will be able to access the oval, the original home of Western Australian football since 1908, following the demolition of the former grandstands.

Concept images for Subi East unveiled last year.
Concept images for Subi East unveiled last year. CREDIT:LANDCORP

Closed since the last AFL game was played there in 2017, before the opening of Optus Stadium, the oval has had its playing surface reinstated, together with the original player dugouts, 250 of the original wooden grandstand seats and AFL-size goal posts. The heritage-listed original entry gates have been retained and restored.

A long-term shared user agreement between the City of Subiaco, the WA Football Commission and Bob Hawke College is being discussed before overall management is handed to the council to handle booking requests from community and sporting groups.

New floodlighting for night events has been installed and the surrounding area has been temporarily landscaped for the community to make the most of while master planning continues for the wider Subi East redevelopment project, covering the 35-hectare area between the oval, West Leederville train station, and the former Princess Margaret Hospital site.

Spearheaded by Development WA, the entity resulting from the Landcorp/Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority merger, Subi East is intended to create more than 2000 homes and create a strong gateway between suburban Subiaco and Perth CBD.

The Sandover Medal Walk will be reinstated once the master plan process identifies a suitable location.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the Subi East Redevelopment,” Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said.

“So many Western Australians turned out to farewell the old Subi Oval in June last year, ahead of the demolition of the grandstands.

“We’re delighted to now be handing this much-loved piece of Perth’s history back to the community, less than a year later.”

The Subi East development will include significant infills of higher density housing.
The Subi East development will include significant infills of higher density housing. CREDIT:LANDCORP

Subiaco was once a pumping village on the city fringe but has seen a prolonged downturn in recent years.

The prominent Pavilion Markets site on the corner of Rokeby and Roberts roads has sat derelict for more than a decade.

Princess Margaret Hospital closed with the opening of the new Perth Children’s Hospital, further stripping the area of vibrancy.

Finally, Optus Stadium’s opening in 2017 took the football crowds away from their traditional home.

Not helping was a challenging couple of years for Perth’s traditional retail strips in general with Subi’s major artery Rokeby Road experiencing high vacancies and the closure of prominent businesses.

But things have slowly been shifting.

Blackburne’s 24-storey development at the old markets site was recently released for sale and is now 75 per cent sold, representing more than $165 million in sales, which developer Paul Blackburne said reflected high demand for quality apartments from western suburbs downsizers.

The new Bob Hawke College at Kitchener Park opened to year 7 students in February and its stage 2 construction, which will add creative arts facilities, more classrooms, multi-purpose playing courts and a roof terrace and increase capacity to 2000 students, is expected to start in April 2021.

Woolworths has now bought what was once the Princess Margaret Hospital’s car park.

And on May 25, the Development WA project team responsible for delivering Subi East revealed fresh concept elements for each of precincts within the development area including the PMH site, the West Leederville train station railway reserve and the area around the reinstated oval.