The vacant Freo Power Station is for sale, and there's a 10/10 idea to turn it into a club

The vacant Freo Power Station is for sale, and there's a 10/10 idea to turn it into a club

I mean, the infamously vacant block basically looks like a Berlin techno club anyway, so why not?

Basically everyone in Perth will recognise the South Freo Power Station, the deserted and boarded up building on the North Coogee beach that's become somewhat of an icon in Perth's southern suburbs. Over the last few decades, the power station has been fenced up and left to decay, and in the years since, has become a bit of a hotspot for adventurers seeking a bit of a late-night discovery session, as well as tourists and content creators searching for a place to take some shots/film for the 'gram. 

Due to its popularity and the safety risks involved, security has become tightened in the last few years, including reinforced fencing, cameras and roving security guards that try and keep the vacant block clear of those trying to get in. However, the property hasn't exactly been used for anything else, with its heritage listing making it difficult to renovate/do something cool with, and the strange refusal to sell it off or do anything else with the lot leaving it just kind-of... sitting there.

Well, things are seemingly changing. Earlier in the week, the State Government announced that the building will be going up for sale, after Synergy - the owners of the block - received an unsolicited bid to buy out the area. According to reports, that opened the floodgates for further bids to come through, with 12 expressions of interest within the first 24 hours, and no doubt plenty of others siphoning through since then.

That's a story in itself, but yesterday, ABC Perth posted about the Power Station, asking their followers what should be done with the venue if it were to be sold off. As you could probably expect, a tonne of ideas filtered through from the great (mental health facility, education facilities, a "gladiator stadium where politicians battle each other for glory, tax dollars and voters confidence") to the not so great, but there seems to be a common link between a few of them: using the space as some kind of cultural, music/arts venue for Perth's southern suburbs.

We're all behind that idea of course, being a website that centres itself particularly on Perth music and culture. Perth's music and culture worlds would greatly benefit from the space being reinvigorated as a hub for Fremantle, especially considering the venue's history as a backdrop for band music videos and press shots since the dawn of time (seriously, for a venue that's been illegal to enter for years, we sure do get a lot of press shots from within its walls).

However, some legend went a step further and suggested turning it into a down-right dirty techno club.

I mean, the idea would never take off. The Government would be more likely to turn it into that gladiator stadium than they would be to turn it into a club or even a live music venue, and honestly, the demand is probably not there for a relatively smaller city like Perth.

But, on the other hand, the venue basically looks like a Berlin tech club anyway:

south freo power station

And how sick would it be to have the established insides and layout of the Power Station transformed into this sprawling, multi-room complex, decked out with lighting and sound systems like some of the rooms in the UK and Europe:

south freo power station2

It's never going to happen so let's not get our hopes up too much, but fuck, imagine how sick it would be. It's what Perth techno/house fiends deserve too, after having to battle through the rise and fall of every other dance music genre in Perth over the last decade.

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