Fremantle Woolstores Coles

Fremantle had four Woolstore buildings on the south side of the harbour, namely Western Farmers, Elder Smith & Co, Goldsbrough Mort and Dalgety & Co.

The Woolstores encompassing the Coles site was bought by Fremantle businessman Joe Rotondella for $3.5m in 1984 and subsequently demolished a year later.

In 2014, the Coles Woolstores Shopping Centre was purchased by Gerard O’Brien in December 2014.

November 2020

Development Applications

2017

Silverleaf Investments Pty Ltd lodges an $80m development application on March 28. They seek to demolish the existing shopping centre and construct a 4-10 storey, 38.9m high mixed-use development, consisting of:

A restaurant
A two-storey tavern
Office space and on levels one to four
141 hotel rooms from levels five to nine
42 multiple dwellings on the ground level through to level 3.

Comments from the City of Fremantle’s Responsible Authority Report (RAR) recommending refusal include:

Not distinctly architecturally designed or compatible for the chosen location
The building doesn’t “comply with the discretional additional building height provisions”
It is considered to “negatively impact the amenity of the immediate character of the locality” (p.20

It is refused on 18 April 2018.

January 2021

2018

Lodged on July 6, Silverleaf Investment’s $15m development application seeks to demolish the southern portion of the Woolworth Shopping Centre, refurbish the northern portion and construct a six-storey retail, office and hotel building. The proposal consists of:

Reducing the Coles supermarket floor space from 4,300m² to 3,200m²
Ground floor – retail tenancies and lobbies for both the hotel and office
Level one – offices and hotel amenities
Levels two to five – 141 hotel rooms

It is approved on 19 September 2018.

2019

Lodged on 24 October 2019, Silverleaf Investments have amended their development application, which retains the $15m investment cost and the six-storey building encompassing retail, office, childcare and a hotel. A five storey police station building is added to the proposal, as well as a restaurant with outdoor seating on the site of the hotel development.

Updated plans submitted on 7 February 2020 include space for six commercial tenancies and on 17 March 2020, “alterations to the building façade… in accordance to the City’s Design Advisory Committee” (p.24).

It is approved on 7 April 2020.

July 2021

2022

A $14m application is lodged on 25 October 2022 for the construction of a three storey mixed-use development on the southern portion of the Woolworths Shopping Centre site, as part of Stage 1.

Silverleaf Investments propose to construct:

Ground floor - a 3,594m² supermarket, liquor store, retail tenancies and childcare lift lobby
Level one – office tenancies
Levels one and two – A childcare premises
Level two – office tenancies

The plans are unanimously supported by members of the City of Fremantle Council and it is approved by the Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel on 30 January 2023.

August 2021

Woolstores Shopping Centre Closure

Whilst it felt like most of the shops had been vacant for quite some time, an eerie experience when shopping at the Woolstores, Coles closes their doors at 5pm on 17 October 2021.

At a time when it felt like there weren’t many quick food options in Fremantle, what with McDonalds and Hungry Jacks gone for a quick night time refuel (particularly for those living a nocturnal lifestyle or clubbing), no longer was there a supermarket. Residences of inner-city Fremantle were told to shop at Melville or Mosman Park, although non-Coles alternatives were much closer, with IGA and Woolworths in South Fremantle located some 3.8km and 3.7km away.

Although with the development of FOMO Fremantle in Kings Square, Sirona Capital included space for an IGA supermarket, which opened in 2022.

October 2021