The WA government will spend millions of dollars on a five-level hospitality venue in an effort to breathe life into the embattled Yagan Square in the heart of Perth's nightlife precinct.
Hospitality group Nokturnl has signed a 30-year lease to redevelop the Market Hall precinct, which was described by previous food vendors last year as a "white elephant" when it failed to live up to expectations as the crowing jewel of the CityLink project.
An $8.4 million redevelopment of the existing site will include a "family-friendly" pub on the ground level with a playground, two restaurants, alfresco areas and a rooftop tavern.
The design will also feature a "keg room" to demonstrate the "inner workings of a pub".
Lands Minister John Carey defended the decision to contribute $5.4 million of taxpayers' money towards the project.
"Lets be very clear, Yagan Square is our asset, it's a community or city asset," he said.
"We need to drive vibrancy and life into Yagan Square, so we are not investing in a private company, we are actually investing in a public facility so that it works.
"What we're trying to do is open up Yagan Square ... the alternative is it sits there, it remains vacant, people walk by.
"I don't think anyone wants to see a key asset in our city remaining stagnant."
The Yagan Square Market Hall opened to much fanfare in 2018 as part of the Barnett government-era project to sink the city's rail line and connect the CBD with Northbridge.
But vendors last year complained it had become a "ghost town", with a lack of foot traffic and poor design forcing many to close their doors on what was sold to them as a unique business opportunity.
Nokturnl co-founder Ross Drennan conceded the site had experienced "challenges".
"But with all the things going on with the Perth City Deal, with ECU going in opposite ... we see it as exciting for the city and a great opportunity," he said.
Edith Cowan University's new inner city campus is being built opposite the site and is expected to attract more than 10,000 students and staff to the area when it opens in 2025.
Mr Carey acknowledged the "previous model" of Yagan Square had not worked, and the precinct had failed to live up to its potential.
He said Nokturnl, which is the group behind The Beaufort in Highgate and Old Synagogue in Fremantle, would deliver a "premium" hospitality venue that would appeal to all ages, tourists and residents.
The redevelopment will more than double the size of the existing site and add another two levels, with a capacity for about 1,500 people, and should open in time for summer next year.
Questions raised over antisocial behaviour
WA Liberal Leader David Honey echoed Mr Carey's comments that Yagan Square hadn't been as successful as hoped and said the government needed to help struggling retailers in the city.
"There needs to be a plan for the revitalisation of the whole of the centre of Perth," he said.
"Building a large bar in the centre of town; some people may question whether that's right and whether that will help [reduce] antisocial behaviour or, in fact, increase antisocial behaviour.
"What is absolutely certain is we need activation in the city."
Former Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi took to social media to criticise the proposal, saying it was "hardly a solution" to antisocial behaviour in the precinct.
"Earlier conversations were to diversify the offerings in Northbridge and not make them all so alcohol-focused. So much for that plan," she said.
The inner-city precinct was named after Noongar warrior Yagan, to reflect the area's historic and cultural significance.
The redevelopment plans have been lodged with Development WA, which has brought back advisors from an Aboriginal working group involved in the original Yagan Square project to speak with the architects behind the new precinct pitch.
Mr Carey said the nine-metre statue named Wirin will remain in the square to recognise Indigenous culture.
He said existing tenants, including The Shoe Bar, will remain at the site and will be unaffected by construction works.
