Chophouse tops off Cloisters revamp

The $70 million redevelopment of Cloisters Square is complete, with the opening of heralded American-style steak restaurant Chophouse the culmination of a three-year transformation that has repositioned the property from an ageing building to a go-to destination.

The revamped Cloisters was officially opened last week by Anglican Archbishop Roger Adrian on behalf of the church’s property development arm, the Perth Diocesan Trustees.

The final piece of the puzzle at Cloisters was the Chophouse restaurant, which had its soft opening late last month ahead of an official gala later in June.

Chophouse is part of the Keystone Group, which holds the Australian licence for Jamie’s Italian restaurant at 140 William.

The wider redevelopment of Cloisters, originally built in 1972, included a redevelopment of the old 19-storey office tower into an A-grade facility, as well as the construction of an 11-level retail and commercial building facing Hay Street, undertaken by Probuild.

The old Cloisters Arcade was also refurbished, to become a glass-enclosed courtyard with a retractable roof, which automatically opens and closes depending on weather conditions.

The redevelopment was managed by Beck Advisory and designed by The Buchan Group.

Beck Advisory director Hamish Beck told Business News the aim was to leverage off the substantial foot traffic through the arcade to create a hospitality destination.

Mr Beck said the courtyard, which uses Cloisters’ original granite cladding as seating, as well as its food and beverage tenancies, provided a significant benefit for the property’s commercial space, where Allion Legal recently signed up to take a full floor at 863 Hay Street.

“It’s provided added activation for the complex, so our levels of leasing activity are fantastic,” Mr Beck said.

“People want more than just offices, they want a place for their staff to engage and have food, and that’s really given us a point of difference in the leasing market.”

Lease Equity managed the retail leasing at Cloisters in collaboration with Beck Advisory.

“We didn’t accept the first retail offers we had, we really made sure we got the very best levels of fitout and national operators available,” Mr Beck said.