Heritage award for restoration of Rostrevor Apartments (East Perth)

5/12/95

The restoration and adaptive re-use of Rostrevor Apartments in East Perth have won the 1995 Heritage Conservation and Property Value Award.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said the apartment building, built for residential purposes in 1937, had been conserved and adapted for use as music and vocational education rooms by Mercedes College.

"The project demonstrates that conserving Western Australia's heritage and development are not competing interests," Mr Lewis said.

The Heritage Conservation and Property Value Award is a joint initiative of the Heritage Council and the Australian Institute of Valuers and Land Economists, and is sponsored by BankWest.

Mr Lewis said the award was designed to encourage heritage property owners to develop their buildings using innovative and creative conservation techniques.

Rostrevor Apartments was originally designed by prominent Perth architects Cavanagh and Cavanagh and was listed on the State Register of Heritage Places by the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

The Minister said great care had been taken to retain the integrity of the Hill and Goderich Street facades of the building.

"The adaptive re-use has been achieved with minimal changes to the structure of the building," he said.

"The renewal of electrical, fire-safety and hydraulic systems has had little impact on the building's visual character."

Mr Lewis also presented two merit certificates which recognised projects in East Fremantle and York.

Jah-Roc Furniture received one of the certificates for the conservation of the Old York Floor Mill which was built in 1892.

The company purchased the property in 1993 to establish a furniture factory and showroom on the site.

Since then, two floors of the four-storey mill have been restored and are in use as a showroom and gallery, while the large iron shed has been converted into a factory.

A group of East Fremantle residents received the second of the merit certificates for the redevelopment of a commercial property at 29-33 Canning Highway.

Mr Lewis said the premises, which exemplified the way of life in the early 1900s, was one of the few remaining traditional shop and residences in East Fremantle and was once the home of local identity and former Mayor Joseph James Holmes.

"The building has been fully restored, allowing for the development of three dual purpose premises at the rear," he said.

The Minister said the high number of entries demonstrated the increased commercial interest in the retention of buildings which had heritage value.

"The entries show that conservation and increased property value are not mutually exclusive aspects of development," Mr Lewis said.

Media contact: Amanda O'Brien 222 9595.