Wednesday, February 12, 2025

New Perth university project reaches full height

Construction of Perth’s first fully comprehensive, inner-city university has reached a major milestone, with the $853 million Edith Cowan University (ECU) City campus reaching its full structural height.

When it opens in semester one, 2026, the 11 super-level ECU City campus will bring together creative industries, business, and emerging technologies under one roof in the heart of Perth.

Jointly funded by the Federal Government, WA Government, and ECU, the new campus is set to transform Perth’s CBD and the Perth City Link precinct with a community of more than 10,000 students and staff coming into the City to work, learn, and create.

“This milestone reflects ECU’s commitment to delivering a transformative campus for our students and our community, and it extends our vision to build a brighter future for education in Western Australia,” said ECU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Clare Pollock.

“The ECU City campus is more than just a building. It’s a place where students will thrive as they learn, create, perform and discover. It will be the launchpad for new ideas, creative expression, and the future careers of our next generation.

“It will also be a place where students, researchers and industry leaders come together to solve some of the biggest challenges our world faces.

“We are proud to be delivering the ECU City campus in partnership with the Australian Government and Western Australian Government as we look ahead to opening in semester one, 2026.”

Today’s ‘top out’ milestone marks major progress on the development, with internal fit-out and finishing works continuing throughout 2025 ahead of the campus opening in 2026.

Since main construction works began in 2023, the ECU City project has driven employment opportunities for thousands of locals. More than 600 workers are now onsite each day, including an apprentice workforce of over 12%. Up to 5,000 jobs are expected to be created over the construction phase.

Spanning more than 65,000 square metres and integrating the Perth Busport, the cutting-edge teaching, learning and performance facilities at ECU City will change the fabric of the CBD to create a vibrant hub of education, research, creativity, and technology innovation, said WA Premier, Roger Cook.

“This important project will deliver a major boost to the Perth CBD economy, with the purpose-built, state-of-the-art university and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts creating vibrancy and a sense of community day and night,” said Premier Cook.

“With the campus reaching its full structural height, this major milestone shows the scale of this project and the incredible impact it will have on Perth.

“It’s exciting to see the progress achieved towards delivering on my Government’s shared vision of a world-class education hub in the heart of our city, and I look forward to the campus opening its doors in 2026 and creating lasting outcomes for future generations.”

The multi-disciplinary campus will be home to ECU’s Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), creative humanities programs from the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Business and Law, emerging technology and cyber security programs from the School of Science, and Kurongkurl Katitjin – the University’s Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research.

Designed to redefine higher education and industry collaboration, ECU City will feature state-of-the-art learning, engagement and performance spaces, including:

  • Eight WAAPA public performance and rehearsal spaces, as home to more than 300 performances every year;
  • Next-generation technology teaching, research and industry spaces, such as an operational Cyber Security Operations Center (Cyber SOC);
  • Radio, television and film production studios;
  • Visual arts and design studios;
  • Moot court;
  • Public gallery and event venues; and
  • An industry engagement hub.

“Reaching the milestone of topping out marks the completion of the core building structure and provides a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the thousands of people who have contributed to the construction of ECU City so far,” said Multiplex WA Managing Director, Chris Palandri.

“Construction works to date have included installing over 251 piles, pouring more than 30,000m³ of low-carbon concrete, and craning into place over 5,000 tonnes of structural reinforcement and 3,110 tonnes of structural steel. The project is now set to become even more exciting as the focus shifts to the internal fit-out, including the complex performance and rehearsal spaces.

“Multiplex is incredibly proud to have reached this milestone on time and on budget, and we look forward to delivering the project ready for opening in semester one, 2026.”

The landmark ECU City project is a collaborative partnership, with the Australian Government committing $294 million, the Western Australian Government investing $199 million and ECU contributing $360 million.

More information about the project is available at www.citycampus.ecu.edu.au.

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