The Fini name is returning to Perth’s property sector in a big way, with the Fini Group brand being revived for a series of apartment developments across the city.
The Fini name is returning to Perth’s property sector in a big way, with the Fini Group brand being revived for a series of apartment developments across the city.
Construction has already begun on the first new development under the Fini Group banner – a 154-apartment, 80-room Quest hotel complex named Stirling Cross in Innaloo.
Fini Group managing director Adrian Fini said national contractor Probuild was carrying out the works, which were expected to be completed before the end of next year.
The project was initially intended to be an office development, in joint venture with Ascot Capital.
However, Fini Group shelved the joint venture in favour of a residential development, when it became apparent a state government department would not anchor the office proposal.
More than 100 apartments have been sold to date at Stirling Cross, while Fini Group also owns 15,000 square metres of the surrounding area, where it is planning more apartments.
“We’re looking at further development in that area,” Mr Fini said.
“We acquired land there a few years ago because we saw it as a strategic location; it’s very close to the city, so it’s a great opportunity to bring product on.
“It’s a unique spot with lots of opportunity”
Mr Fini said the group was also gearing up to launch its next development – a hotel and apartment project at Elizabeth Quay in collaboration with Victor Goh, the developer behind the Capital Square development under way at the Old Emu Brewery site on Mounts Bay Road.
The state government announced the joint venture between Mr Goh’s AAIG and Fini Group was its preferred proponent for lots two and three of Elizabeth Quay in January.
Plans remain in the preliminary design phase, but 450 apartments and a 125-bed hotel are proposed for the prominent site.
An international design competition will be launched shortly, with Mr Fini saying the group was keen to move quickly on the project.
Mr Fini said he was largely confident of developers’ prospects in Perth’s apartment sector despite challenging sales conditions, providing a project has the right attributes.
“If you’ve got the right product in the right location … that addresses what the market wants,” he said.
“Perth is a very low-density city still and there are many segments that demand and prefer the lifestyle benefits of living close to the city.
“I don’t think the trend will change at all; I really just believe the opportunities and the timing are very important.”
The Fini name has been a prominent part of Perth’s property development scene since Mr Fini’s father, Tony, established the group in 1956; it even remained for five years following the 2001 merger with national property player Mirvac to create Mirvac-Fini.
While Tony Fini’s Fini Developments has been active in small-scale suburban apartment product since 2011, no major projects have carried the Fini name since Mirvac dropped it from its branding in 2006, to bring its Western Australian operations in line with those in the eastern states.
Adrian Fini told Business News not all the assets or landholdings of the company were included in the merger with Mirvac, and Stirling Cross was just one of many development sites that would be pursued in coming years.
“The actual company wasn’t taken over, we merged our existing work in progress at the time,” Mr Fini said.
“Fini Group Pty Ltd remains as a company within our family of companies and we still retained, through those entities, lots of other sites and assets.”
Adrian Fini has remained busy in Perth’s development sector since stepping down from the Mirvac Group board in 2010, albeit under the banner FJM Property, a joint venture with fellow Perth property identities Barry Jones and David Mack, who formerly traded under the name Criterion Group.
FJM Property’s flagship project, the State Buildings, opened its doors to the public late last year.
