source : the age
A once-beloved Perth pub which inspired an AC/DC rock anthem would be turned into apartments and a microbrewery under plans currently before the WA Planning Commission.
Built in 1907, the Leopold Hotel could soon be replaced with 203 apartments, erasing the memories of a place that helped create the rock anthem Highway to Hell.
The Leopold served its final brew in October 2025, a whopping 116 years after they first opened their doors on the busy stretch of the Canning Highway.
New South Wales developer Changfeng Pty Ltd – directed by Ching Wu and Kwai Mo Wong – lodged the $93 million development application with the planning commission for an 11-storey tower.
Now the proposal is out for public comment.
If approved, the building – located at 326 Canning Highway – would see 87 one-bedroom, 75 two-bedroom, 24 three-bedroom and 17 studio apartments built above the commercial floors.
The microbrewery would be built over two levels alongside a liquor store, two cafes and three retail tenancies.
The development application report said the proposal will “integrate appropriately with the residential and commercial development envisaged surrounding the subject site, while providing significantly more infill dwellings.”
“The development will provide crucial housing in the midst of a housing crisis. The private sector is finding it challenging to deliver housing in areas where there is a demonstrated need, but where the economic circumstances do not favour residential development,” the report said.
The microbrewery is currently not permitted to be built due to the zoning of the land, but the developers are requesting discretion from planning authorities.
“The proposed brewery is intended to pay homage to the historic use of the site as a neighbourhood bar,” the report said.
“Despite a brewery’s technical prohibition in the Centre zone, it represents a continuation and evolution of the site’s long-standing hospitality function, rather than an entirely new or incompatible land use.”
Melville councillor Karen Wheatland shared a link to the public consultation on her Facebook page on Friday, urging locals to have their say on the proposal.
“This is a substantial departure from the current planning framework. The site is zoned Centre C4 with an R60 density code. The existing scheme generally provides for a maximum height of around 17.5 metres, or approximately five storeys, with a plot ratio of 1:1,” Wheatland wrote.
“There is also no activity centre or precinct plan in place establishing 11-storey development at this location.
“I support more housing and well-planned development, but development of this scale must be properly justified. The community deserves clear answers about building height, traffic, parking, overshadowing, privacy, neighbourhood character and the impact on nearby residents.”
Because the project is valued at more than $20 million, it has been lodged through the state government’s Significant Development Pathway, which means the final decision will be made by the WA Planning Commission, not the City of Melville.
Parking for apartment residents would be dispersed over 312 bays distributed across basement, ground and mezzanine levels, with primary access from Point Walter Road and existing access from Canning Highway retained.
A pocket park fronting Canning Highway acting as a communal open space area would be built as well.
Public consultation will close on August 30.
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