Finbar to sell Gateway project

SOUTH Perth-based property developer Finbar has put its majority owned Gateway office development, currently being built on the former Nutrimetics site on Albany Highway, on the market. The seven level office building features about 12,000 square metres of office space, with publicly listed engineering firm Monadelphous Group already pre-committed to taking 85 per cent of the space. Monadelphous signed the 12-year lease at just under $400 a square metre, a significant discount on rents commanded in the Perth CBD. The development also houses 1,285sqm of retail and is located adjacent to a 75-apartment residential development, also being developed by Finbar. The project, which has an estimated value of $75 million, is due for completion in mid-2010. The property was purchased by a Finbar lead joint venture in June 2006 for $12.5 million. In November last year, it upped its interest in the project from 50 per cent to 63 per cent. Knight Frank managing director Gary Ryan said while interest in commercial projects had dropped off in recent times there were still buyers in the market. Finbar currently has about 10 residential and commercial projects under construction in the Perth CBD, East Perth, Maylands and Northbridge. It also recently announced that it had formed a joint venture with Singapore-based to purchase and develop the former ABC site at 187 Adelaide Terrace. The end value of the project, which is likely to include a mix of commercial, retail and residential space, will exceed $450 million and is likely to take the company about five years to complete