Blackburne seeks to double Scarborough height limit for $90m tower

Property developer Blackburne has lodged plans for an 85.25m apartment tower on Scarborough’s Esplanade, seeking a height variation that would roughly double the suburb’s discretionary planning limit, The West Australian reported on 29 October 2026. The application, filed with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, puts the project at $90 million. If it succeeds, it resets the height case for every other beachfront site on the strip.

The proposal, named The Esplanade Residences, covers 202-204 The Esplanade, opposite Brighton Reserve and Scarborough Beach. Planning documents describe an 82-apartment building, made up of 76 three-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments, designed by MJA Studio. A two-storey podium with a pool and communal amenities would sit beneath a 22-storey residential tower, taking the development to 24 storeys and 85.25m overall. Every apartment would have a private balcony or terrace oriented toward the ocean, and residents would also have access to a rooftop lounge and dining facilities.

Why it matters

The Scarborough design guidelines set a discretionary maximum of 12 storeys, or 43m, for the site. Blackburne’s proposal is, by its own planning documents, twice that permitted storey height. To make its case, the application points to three existing high-rises nearby: the Rendezvous Hotel at 19 storeys, the White Sands development at 29 storeys, and the approved 3 Oceans towers at 43 and 33 storeys, arguing the strip already carries buildings of this scale. The 3 Oceans towers sit closest in scale to Blackburne’s bid. The Rendezvous Hotel and White Sands were approved under earlier planning settings. Planning documents state the design has been before the State Design Review Panel (SDRP) twice and won support for its scale and form. That support covers design quality, not planning merit.

For other Scarborough landholders, the outcome signals how far the 12-storey guideline can bend. Approval would give every beachfront site a fresh precedent to cite.

The numbers

Three figures anchor the bid. The project is valued at $90 million. The tower would reach 85.25m across 24 storeys, more than double the suburb’s 43m discretionary maximum. The building would hold 82 apartments, 76 three-bedroom and six two-bedroom, with 186 carparking bays split between 174 residential and 12 visitor spaces, plus motorcycle and bicycle parking. The 186 bays sit across three car park levels.

What’s next

The application remains before the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage and is proposed, not approved. No date has been set for a planning decision, and the plans can still be amended before determination. Approval would make Blackburne’s tower the latest building on the Scarborough beachfront to exceed the suburb’s 12-storey design guideline, following the already-approved 3 Oceans towers. The bid also follows recent apartment completions elsewhere in Perth, such as Finbar Garden Towers, which issued titles this month.