Perth's old ECU campus to deliver up to 1,100 new homes, but not until 2030
Up to 1,100 homes are planned for a transformed former ECU Mount Lawley campus, but redevelopment of the huge inner suburban site will roll out gradually over 10 to 15 years.
The relocation of Edith Cowan University (ECU) to its glistening new city campus raised a big question around what would happen to the sprawling 18.6-hectare site of the disused Mount Lawley campus.
That question has now been answered, with the Western Australian Government finalising its long-awaited master plan for the former campus, confirming up to 1,100 homes, a primary school, public green space and a creative arts hub could be built on the site.
The scale of the project means the first properties are unlikely to be delivered until around 2030.
The site, located about five kilometres from Perth’s CBD, will be redeveloped over a 10 to 15-year period in the wake of ECU having this year relocated its operations to its new city campus.
The final blueprint follows community consultation throughout 2025 and sets out a staged transformation of the decommissioned campus into a mixed residential precinct.
Up to 1,100 homes planned
Under the plan, between 900 and 1,100 dwellings will be developed across the site, including a mix of townhouses, grouped housing and apartments. About 15 per cent of the land will be retained as public open space.
The scale of the development positions the Mount Lawley project as one of the more significant infill housing sites close to Perth’s inner suburbs, at a time when housing supply remains under pressure across the state.
Planning and Lands Minister John Carey said the redevelopment represented an opportunity to deliver new housing in an established suburb while retaining elements of the site’s existing character.
He said the master plan balanced increased density with green space and heritage retention, and reflected feedback gathered during consultation.
“This is an incredible location close to the city on high transport routes,” he said.
“There’s a real opportunity here to create a new urban village that obviously provides critical housing, but also importantly retains some of the creative and cultural assets that we can use for a hub into the future.”
More than 300 submissions were received during the community engagement process, according to the government.
Creative industries hub to remain
Several existing buildings will be retained, including facilities previously used by the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), the campus library and administration buildings.
These structures are earmarked for conversion into a creative industries hub, which the government says will support arts organisations and creative businesses.
Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk said strong community support was recorded for maintaining cultural uses on the site, with 85 per cent of consultation respondents backing new arts and cultural opportunities in the precinct.
The plan also identifies land for a potential future primary school, reflecting expectations the area will attract families once housing construction is completed.
Migration pressure and housing demand
The Mount Lawley redevelopment comes as Western Australia continues to face housing supply challenges amid population growth and tight vacancy rates.
Although the project will eventually deliver a substantial number of homes, its extended delivery timeframe means it will not provide immediate relief to supply shortages.
With first homes not expected until 2030, and full completion stretching well into the 2030s, the development will unfold gradually.
In the interim, planning work will continue as the site transitions back to state control following ECU’s move to the CBD.
Staged delivery over 10 to 15 years
Once ECU vacates the campus in 2026, DevelopmentWA will oversee the next stages of detailed planning, subdivision and infrastructure works.
The 10-to-15-year timeframe reflects the scale and complexity of the redevelopment, including demolition, servicing, road layout changes and the adaptive reuse of selected buildings.
The site’s proximity to Beaufort Street, public transport corridors and established residential areas has made it a focal point for debate over density and traffic impacts during the consultation phase.
While the government says the master plan incorporates community feedback, some residents previously raised concerns about building heights, congestion and the pace of change in the suburb.
The final plan confirms a range of housing typologies but does not lock in specific development applications, which will be subject to future planning approvals.
What happens next in Mount Lawley?
The release of the master plan marks the end of the high-level vision phase, but the statutory planning and development stages will continue over coming years.
Key next steps include:
- finalising detailed structure planning
- infrastructure design and funding arrangements
- demolition of redundant campus buildings
- staged land release for residential development.
The project aligns with the broader Perth City Deal framework, which includes ECU’s relocation to a new CBD campus designed to anchor further activity in the city centre.
