Hesperia acquires Heritage listed Elders Wool Stores in Fremantle
July 14, 2022
Hesperia will breathe new life into the heritage listed Elders Wool Stores on Cantonment and Elder Place, supporting the natural extension and revitalisation of Fremantle’s historic West End.
Hesperia’s vision is to reinvigorate the site into a thriving community, having been left largely inactive for several decades. The primary focus is to conserve the heritage and artistic values of the area and seamlessly integrate the site with its surrounding urban fabric to create a sense of community, vibrancy and connection to place with a mixed-use precinct.
Director Kyle Jeavons said the redevelopment of the State Heritage listed 1927 Elders Wool Stores structure is another step in revitalising Fremantle’s portside precinct.
“This redevelopment will reinvigorate an area of Fremantle that has remained largely inactive since the 1970s,” Kyle said.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to restore, sensitively adapt and interpret this piece of rich industrial history, whilst preserving the heritage fabric of Fremantle.”
The acquisition of the site coincides with the expansion of Hesperia’s Heritage Development Advisory services to provide advice to other property owners on the adaptive reuse of Perth’s unique built form heritage. As a local leader in repurposing major heritage structures and, as demand for expertise increases, Hesperia has expanded its team of heritage specialists to find new uses for structures that are commercially achievable and meet a public need.
In a meeting of like-minds, Hesperia has engaged award-winning heritage architects, Griffiths Architect, as specialist consultants on the project to assist in finding opportunities to bring the Wool Stores to life.
The site now containing the unoccupied Elders Wool Stores has evolved substantially over time. In 1908 it contained eight brick terrace houses, a substantial stone residence, a duplex, stables and St John’s Rectory.
Construction on the building seen today commenced in 1927 for Goldsborough Mort and Co. Pty Ltd, with additions made in 1950-56 and 1969-70. A declining wool industry and changing operation methods meant that large wool stores were largely redundant by the 1970s.
Hesperia’s portfolio of heritage restoration and adaptive reuse activities includes the landmark State Buildings in Perth CBD, the current redevelopment of Victoria House in Shenton Park, the addition of the ABN Building to The Leederville Hotel Precinct, and the Rechabite.
A wide-ranging engagement process will begin with local stakeholders later this year to obtain community, business and Government input into the future uses for the site.
