Planners approve $12 million tavern, daycare, gym and cafe for old Waikiki Hotel site in Safety Bay

Plans for overhauling the old Waikiki Hotel site on Safety Bay Road were approved at Tuesday’s Joint Development Assessment Panel meeting.

Metro Outer JDAP members approved plans for the $12 million development, which includes a 1000-person tavern with a bar, restaurant, terrace, and deck areas, plus a children’s play space.

The plans also include an 82-child capacity daycare centre, a gym, a medical centre, a physiotherapists’ consulting room, a pharmacy, a cafe and “speciality” tenancies.

Fabric Property director Rhys Kelly revealed in February that many of the tenancies were already leased with “well-known established WA publicans” who had run pubs in the area before behind the tavern, a Rockingham resident and business owner slated to open a French restaurant at the site, and a “national ASX-listed operator” to take the reins of the daycare.

Initial plans were rejected due to a parking shortfall. A report by the City of Rockingham revealed that 391 parking bays were required on-site while only 149 bays were being provided, which would leave a 242-bay shortfall.

JDAP approved the plans with the proviso that the developer would provide a minimum of 159 parking spaces and was satisfied that 88 bays in the public car park across the road would make up the shortfall.

Bicycle parking spaces must also be provided across the development, and hot water showers, change rooms, and clothing lockers are also needed as part of the City’s planning policy.

Acoustic assessments must be submitted to the city and approved before a building permit is issued and before the development is occupied.

At the March 26 council meeting, Vida and Simon Reid, who lived behind the property, shared their concerns about the noise level coming from the tavern carpark.

They asked if an acoustic limestone wall could be built to mitigate the noise from the carpark.

Mayor Deb Hamblin advised the couple that noise regulations could be achieved by upgrading the current fence to ‘double skinned colorbond’.

The developers have four years to complete the building before planning approval lapses.

The site has been subject to various plans over the past 17 years, with the City of Rockingham granting development approvals in 2007, 2009 and 2010 and separate approvals granted by State planners in 2012, 2013 and 2016 — none of which were ever acted on and subsequently lapsed.