Perth property baron Nigel Satterley proposes purchase of Irwin Barracks amid Federal Government defence sale

Perth property baron Nigel Satterley has his eyes firmly set on turning Irwin Barracks into a “quality residential precinct”, saying he will go all out to buy the 61ha site from the Federal Government. Mr Satterley, the founder of Satterley Property Group — the country’s biggest private developer of residential — on Saturday said he intended to bid for the Karrakatta site, which Defence has declared is up for sale, along with Leeuwin Barracks in East Fremantle and a raft of other sites nationwide. Industry sources say the site will sell for more than $250 million. Mr Satterley said he believed some 2000 dwellings could be built there — a mixture of properties ranging in height from four to eight storeys, townhouses and single-storey dwellings. He believed the entry price to buy a property on the redeveloped site would be about $1 million. “It is a very, very good site — very centrally located,” Mr Satterley said. “The site is very ideal for a master-planned community, from single family homes through to mid-rise, multi-residential. “It would be a product for all ages — from 20s up until the 80s.” The two key defence sites in WA will be sold as part of an expected $3 billion fire sale by the Federal Government. Defence Minister Richard Marles has previously said the money would be put towards acquiring new military equipment and upgrades of essential bases, particularly in northern Australia. Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh, at the Irwin Barracks on Saturday, said personnel there would relocate to a revamped Palmer Barracks in South Guildford. Irwin Barracks has been a military training area since 1948 and currently houses about 200 ADF force personnel, 50 Australian Public Service personnel, 1150 ADF reserves, and 250 cadets. It’s understood expressions of interest were being sought from specialist consultancy teams to look at geo technical, environmental and planning and historical issues “When we came into government, we commissioned the defence strategic review, looking at a whole range of strategic issues confronting the Australian Defence Force and our national interest and a key recommendation that came out of that was to do an audit of the defence assets,” Mr Keogh said at an open day to mark 125 years of Army service to the nation. “Defence is the biggest holder of land in the Commonwealth, and the request there was to make sure we were using that defence estate to get the best outcomes for our Australian Defence Force and for our nation. “That audit gave a very considered detailed analysis of all the defence estate across the country — what we needed to maintain and what was now surplus to requirements.” Palmer Barracks is some 21km away from Irwin Barracks in Karrakatta. Mr Keogh said facilities at Palmer Barracks would be upgraded before personnel using Irwin shifted. “What it will mean is that our reserve force here in Army in WA will be moving from facilities that are decades and decades old, close to 100 years old in some instances,” he said. “(They will move) to fit-for-purpose new facilities that will better support the modern capability of our Australian Defence Force and also better connected to better routes of transport.” Mr Satterley said he was extremely keen on purchasing the site when the official process for sale commenced. “It is an amazing site,” he said. But Mr Satterley said he had less interest in purchasing the East Fremantle site. “There is some interest in the Leeuwin site, but we think there may be heritage issues,” he said.