The state heritage-listed Edward Millen House, surrounding buildings and Edward Millen parkland are planned to undergo a major restoration and heritage redevelopment.
Edward Millen House
The heritage-listed Edward Millen House is finally set to undergo a major restoration and redevelopment.
Located at 15 Hillview Terrace, East Victoria Park, The Edward Millen Precinct is the heritage gem of the Town of Victoria Park. In February 2006, the site was gifted to the Town by the WA State Government for the purpose of “community, recreational or civic use.”
Since then, the Town has been committed to seeing the precinct come back to life.
In a rare and exciting collaboration between the private sector, Australian and Local Governments, Victoria Park Council have endorsed a plan to unlock the future of Edward Millen House, surrounding buildings and parklands.
The House is to be leased to WA based company Blackoak Capital Ventures for 20 years, who will undertake an adaptive heritage redevelopment process to transform the site into a unique hospitality and entertainment district. This will contribute to the preservation of the site’s rich history while building on its future as a sustainable, vibrant community and commercial asset for all Western Australians to enjoy.
The approved lease will result in Blackoak making a substantial investment in new facilities at no cost to the Town and deliver the following key outcomes:
- Deliver a world class destination that attracts visitors from the greater community, through an innovative and creative mix of uses operating in an environmentally sustainable way.
- Create a hub with real community purpose by providing for both for-profit and not-for-profit services, delivering community access to the arts, craft, theatre and music, and creating public green spaces accessible to all.
- Preserve the history of the Edward Millen buildings, by the full refurbishment of the heritage buildings, sympathetic design, and incorporating a museum space into the project.
- Contribute to realising the Edward Millen Park upgrade plan.
As part of the lease agreement, Blackoak will pay rates, taxes, outgoings, insurance and ongoing maintenance costs. The deal also includes a lump sum upfront payment of $2 million that will go towards the park upgrade and the Town will receive ground lease rent from year 21.
To date, extensive community consultation, conservation planning , economic and environmental due diligence, a Park Masterplan, and a thorough tender process have been undertaken.
The redevelopment is supported by $4 million in Australian Government funding, which will be used for the heritage restoration of the House.
Edward Millen Park
To accompany the Edward Millen House redevelopment, the Town are undertaking an extensive upgrade of the vast parklands surrounding the heritage buildings.
The upgrade will transform the 4.7 hectare landscape into a vibrant public place, highlighted by the Mildred Creak Playground – a purpose built play area catering to the needs of neurodiverse children. Developed in collaboration with the Autism Association of WA, the playground pays homage to the site’s heritage as a centre for treatment and care of neurodiverse children from 1982-2001 and is named after pioneering doctor Mildred Creak who established the criteria used to diagnose Autism and was the first to propose that Autism is primarily caused by genetic factors.
The park upgrade also features an expansive amphitheatre and performance space, a space for indigenous art to reflect the history of the area, new pathways and seating, BBQ facilities, a nature play space, and accessible toilet block.
Latest updates
2024
Blackoak's final redevelopment plans were advertised for community comment from 7 December 2023 to 22 January 2024.
At the 18 March 2024 Special Council Meeting, Council endorsed the development application and recommended it to be approved by the Metro Inner Joint Development Assessment Panel.
On 28 March 2024, the Development Assessment Panel approved the application, citing the redevelopment as a positive, adaptive reuse of a heritage building that will contribute to the reactivation of a vacant site. Minutes from the DAP are available to view here.
With the Development Application now approved, construction is anticipated to kick off in July 2024. Blackoak’s first priority will be the restoration work to restore the heritage buildings.
Commencement of Blackoak's works will line up nicely with the upcoming upgrade to the surrounding parkland, which the Town expects to start in late 2024.
The revitalised precinct is expected to open in early 2026, so stay tuned for updates as the project progresses.
2023
Detail design
At the 15 August 2023 Council Meeting, Council endorsed the detail design and final plan to upgrade Edward Millen Park.
15 August Council Meeting Agenda, Minutes and attachments (item 13.5)
Lease agreement
At the 29 August 2023 Special Council Meeting, Council approved the final lease agreement with Blackoak.
29 August Special Council Meeting Agenda, Minutes and attachments (item 9.1)
Hillview Clinic building
In October 2023, the former Hillview Clinic Building (an ancillary building to the main Edward Millen House) was demolished to allow for the future redevelopment of the precinct.
Demolition of the building has long been part of the plans to redevelop the precinct. It was originally proposed during the master planning process for Edward Millen Park.
The Development Application for the demolition was advertised for community comment from 9 March to 23 March 2023 and endorsed by Council on 4 April 2023.
Find out more
Learn about the site's history and the redevelopment plans below.
The History
Since 1911, Edward Millen House has been used as a maternity and public hospital, a sanatorium for ex-service personnel, and a psychiatric centre.
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The Redevelopment
Delivered under the Town's Land Asset Optimisation Strategy, see how the project aims to transform the historic precinct and maximise community benefit.
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The Buildings
The Edward Millen Heritage Precinct includes a collection of heritage-listed buildings set in the 4.7 hectare Edward Millen Parklands.
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Landscape Masterplan
To accompany the redevelopment, the Town has created a masterplan to guide future development of Edward Millen Reserve.
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