PIAF calls Elizabeth Quay home from 2016

• Flexible outdoor event space to be created on Lot 4 at Elizabeth Quay

• Chevron Festival Gardens will be the first major public event on Lot 4  

• A tender has been released for services and landscaping works  

Elizabeth Quay will be the new home of the Perth International Arts Festival's very popular Chevron Festival Gardens from 2016 to 2019. 

The gardens will be the first major event at Lot 4, a temporary outdoor venue for festivals, concerts and sporting events, on the corner of The Esplanade and William Street.

Planning and Culture and the Arts Minister John Day said Lot 4 was designed to be a flexible event space at Elizabeth Quay and the partnership with the Perth International Arts Festival was a win for festival goers.  

"This is a great outcome for the tens of thousands of Perth International Arts Festival attendees who have flocked to the festival gardens at their previous home at the Perth Cultural Centre," Mr Day said.

"Lot 4 has always been earmarked as a temporary public space for a range of events at Elizabeth Quay.  Its sale will be staged to meet market demand and in the interim it will be available as an exciting new outdoor venue for the community to enjoy.

"There was an incredibly positive response to a call for Expressions of Interest from event operators earlier this year, with many indicating a strong appetite for the kind of flexible space planned for Lot 4."

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority has also released a tender calling for a contractor to undertake services and landscaping works to create the new event space on Lot 4.  The works will include the provision of power, grass and hardstand surfaces, drainage and public amenities and will be completed ahead of the opening of the Perth International Arts Festival in February 2016.

Land sales at Elizabeth Quay have been very successful to date with developers chosen for six of the nine development lots and Expressions of Interest sought on a further two lots.

"The interest in Lots 2 and 3 has been very strong with eight submissions received from a range of local, national and international parties. The submissions will now be assessed and shortlisted with a preferred proponent expected to be announced next year," the Minister said.  

Fact File

• The Chevron Festival Gardens will take place from February 11 to  March 6, 2016

• The Perth International Arts Festival program will be released on November 4

• Lot 4 is expected to be released to the market in about four years and will be used as an event space until that time

• A calendar of events is now being planned that will offer a great range of ticketed and non-ticketed events that will offer something for everyone to enjoy at Elizabeth Quay

• The sale of land at Elizabeth Quay has returned more than $89 million back to the State

• About 3,700 jobs have been created during construction with work for more than 146 small to medium companies including engineers, labourers and archaeologists

• For more information, visit http://www.elizabethquay.wa.gov.au  

Minister's office - 6552 6200