Residential development was relatively dispersed in Osborne Park prior to the 1950s, with a single node of housing along Main Street. After the 1950s housing construction began in the eastern sector of Osborne Park, though most remaining dwellings date from the 1960s and 1970s.
Houses are generally single detached brick and tile dwellings, though there are some character houses of timber construction interspersed throughout the area.
Numerous unit developments have appeared more recently and are built in a range of modern styles and materials.
The Osborne Park industrial area contains numerous showrooms, retail outlets and offices. It is also a significant employment centre for Perth's northern suburbs. The most recent addition to the industrial area has been Herdsman Business Park, which houses a range of commercial developments including the City's largest employer—West Australian Newspapers.
Within the residential areas of Osborne Park there are five small recreational parks, totalling 1ha. Herdsman Lake also provides a large area of open space, which is used by both local and regional residents. Herdsman Lake is the suburb's largest park, and is an important active and passive regional recreation area as well as a wildlife sanctuary.
The locality contains several privately owned recreational facilities, including gymnasiums and indoor sporting centres. Osborne Primary School is located in the centre of the suburb's residential area.
The recently refurbished Main Street commercial centre is one of the suburb's most attractive features and brings people from all over Perth to dine at its many multi-cultural and traditional cuisine restaurants and cafes and shop in a wide range of specialty stores.
Significant landmarks
Opened in 1903, the Osborne Primary School was established for the children of market gardeners and daily farmers in and around Osborne Park. When it first opened, the school had 17 students, but was extended over many years to accomodate increasing student numbers, particularly during the post war expansion of Osborne Park. The school is valued by the local community as the focus of sate-operated education for more than a century and by its past students, many of whom are long-time residents of Osborne Park.