In early June, the City of Perth voted to turn the Council-owned Gasworks building at 337 Wellington Street into artists’ studios. The decision was made in response to the inability of artists to afford such spaces in the CBD as a result of the property boom – as a result, Artsource have been given a lease for ten years at one dollar a year.

In combination with the Gasworks lease, McLean’s Laneway, next to the building, has been identified for upgrading, with the stated aims of the Council being to:

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• Support the creative industries.
• Increase pedestrian movements through the laneway.
• Increase pedestrian movements along Wellington Street.
• Activate the Wellington Street frontage.

This development is interesting because traditionally such artist space has been self-funded and not supported by local government. However, with the continued growth of the property market in the Perth CBD, arts and cultural collectives cannot be expected to afford the ‘first floor leases’ that fill in the often-empty upper levels of Perth retail buildings.

Why would the artists be needed?

Our CBD is not usually characterised as a city (in the cosmopolitan, vibrant sense that we would characterise Melbourne, or even Fremantle). Perth is a Central Business District – and it tends to leave energy and creativity to neighbourhoods like Mt Lawley and Northbridge. It has, however, experienced increases to its median house price of 17.2% p.a. for the past 5 years. This massive increase is a direct result of the mining boom, and the resultant property boom that followed.

However, what happens when the boom is over, when a large proportion of the 6,000 or so residents suddenly don’t have to be in Western Australia?

Traditionally, cities that undergo a gentrification process follow the following formula:

• Character areas of the inner city (or CBD) become run-down, property prices drop;
• Artists move in to take advantage of cheap rent;
• Young professionals, metrosexuals (gay and otherwise), and others move in to take advantage of the growing culture and energy of an area;
• Developers move in to take advantage of an area’s increased desirability.

Perth’s experience has been different, and while the natural attractions of the river have a strong effect on house prices, the overall vibrancy of the city does not reflect its position as the second least affordable city in the nation. It is gentrification back-to-front, with luxury apartments appearing everywhere, but nowhere for young up-and-comers to go after 5pm!

As a result, the City of Perth must do some work to ‘fill in the gaps’ that qualify our city as a desirable place to work and live. The introduction of Council-sponsored artist spaces can be seen as one prong in this endeavour.

A global outlook

Internationally, the labour market is undergoing a large-scale restructure, as an ageing population leads to more competition between employers for skilled (and unskilled) workers. With this increased bargaining power, potential employees are invoking their right to choose not only who they work for, but where they work and live.

In Building Human Capital, a Chamber for Commerce and Industry discussion paper, it was found that the state ‘is facing a potential shortfall of over 150,000 workers over the course of the next 10 years’. This points to continued growth in demand for properties; however, in order to attract and retain the level of migrants necessary, Perth must address the vibrancy factors that hinder its emergence as a competitive world city.