The “Little Italy” precinct planned for the City of Vincent would combine 240 apartments with retail, sporting and cultural facilities, centred around an Italian-style piazza. The project, conceived by the WA Italian Club and Perth Soccer Club with support from the Italo-Australian Welfare and Cultural Centre and City of Vincent, aims to create an Italian cultural hub.

The Little Italy Masterplan involves bringing together the Perth Soccer Club and WA Italian Club under one roof and creating a vibrant piazza for locals and the wider community. The development would reunite the two historic clubs while providing significant new amenities and housing options near the Perth CBD. The piazza would form the centrepiece of the development, providing public open space for community events and alfresco dining. The Masterplan includes additional public-focused elements such as a public active zone with playgrounds and seating along Lawley Street, and a widened connection from Fitzgerald Street through to the piazza.

The sporting component would include a new 700-seat grandstand on the eastern side of Dorrien Gardens, two full-sized football pitches, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, and modern training and changing facilities. The WA Italian Club would gain a new ballroom and function rooms, co-working commercial space, and upgraded kitchen and bar facilities.

The retail component would include food shops and restaurants fronting the piazza, with additional Italian retail and hospitality throughout the precinct. The ground floor of the new soccer clubrooms would accommodate hospitality uses facing the piazza.

Perth Soccer Club president Jason Marocchi said the collaboration aimed to “develop a sustainable future for both clubs which honours the traditions and sacrifices of the Italian community and the significant role it has played in the economic, cultural and sporting development of Western Australia”.

WA Italian Club president Sal Vallelonga said it would create a “desired place of significance which recognises the Italian sacrifice in Western Australia [and] is long overdue. It would reflect the value, legacy and 235 years of commitment to Western Australia by so many generations of Italians.”

The project is in early planning stages and construction timelines are yet to be announced.