A-grade report card for Parmelia House tenancy

AFTER standing vacant during the late 1990s, 191 St Georges Terrace, also known as Parmelia House, is now close to being fully tenanted.

The recent expansion of the Australian Taxation Office and the relocation of consultancy groups AMOG Consulting, ACIL Tasman and Porter Consulting Group into the building this year have reduced the building’s overall vacancy from 10.3 per cent at the start of the year to just 1.2 per cent.

The near-full status follows an aggressive three-year leasing campaign to fill the building, which was built in the 1970s and completely empty when bought by Australian City Properties, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hawaiian Management, for $20 million in late 1999.

The 19-storey building achieved an undesired notoriety when under the ownership of business tycoon Jack Bendat, standing empty for three years from 1997 to 1999. The building was relaunched as Parmelia House in mid 1997 after Mr Bendat spent more than $5 million on a refurbishment and upgraded the property to an A-grade building.

Mr Bendat released the building to the leasing market under the requirement that the entire building only be leased to a single major tenant.

However, due to lack of interest and market pressures, in late 1998 it was announced that the building would be leased on a floor-by-floor basis. This did little to spark the interest of tenants and the building remained empty until after its purchase by Australian City Properties.

Now, the last remaining vacancy in the building is due to the recent departure of Property Council of WA to Hawaiian Management’s 182 St Georges Terrace building, where it joined Acumen and Hawaiian Management in the newly refurbished building.

Hawaiian Management declined to comment on the leasing campaign at 191 St Georges Terrace.