The state government is leading the charge to change Perth’s skyline, this week announcing the short listed developers for 140 William Street and unveiling the redevelopment design for the Old Treasury Buildings.
The state government is leading the charge to change Perth’s skyline, this week announcing the short listed developers for 140 William Street and unveiling the redevelopment design for the Old Treasury Buildings.
The announcement comes at the end of a year during which developers of the four major office buildings in Perth failed to secure anchor tenants for their proposed developments.
Leighton Holdings Ltd, Grocon, Lend Lease Corporation Ltd, and Multiplex Group have been announced as the short-listed developers for 140 William Street, a 0.88-hectare site located above the yet-to-be-constructed Wellington Street train station.
Leighton is in a joint venture called Evolution Consortium with Australian Super Developments, the development wing of Cbus, the $7 billion industry superannuation fund that originated in the construction, building and allied industries.
LendLease is in a consortium with Australian Prime Property Fund, while Multiplex is represented by Multiplex Developments Australia.
Eleven expressions of interest were received for the site, with competition always expected to be fierce, as Perth’s office market this year became the hottest in the country.
Vacancy rates have plummeted from the highest in the country at 13.4 per cent in January this year to 9.5 per cent in July, and are predicted to drop further to 6.1 per cent in January 2006 figures.
With the pickup in the market came the interest of listed property and superfund heavyweights, as demonstrated by the developers short-listed for 140 William Street.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said developers were sought who could deliver a high-quality outcome for the state, based on their experience and excellence in design of that scale.
In line with the state government’s sustainability objectives, the office building on 140 William Street is expected to have a five-star ‘green rating’.
The government has committed to a 22,000 square metre 15-year pre-commitment on the site, which is expected to be sold by LandCorp for around $25 million.
Housing and Works Minister Fran Logan said he had no doubt that the pre-commitment by the state government was a major factor in the strong national interest for the site.
As well as unveiling the design for the Old Treasury Buildings this week, the government also announced a pre-commitment of between 15,000 and 17,000sq m of office space for the site.
Private sector developers currently vying for anchor tenants are: Luke Saraceni for his Raine Square site; Multiplex and the Griffin Group for 125 St Georges Terrace; Peter Laurence’s Pivot Group for 100 St Georges Terrace; and Hawaiian and Multiplex for the Bishop’s See precinct, at 225 St Georges Terrace.
Multiplex is poised for presence in the Perth office development market, with a 50 per cent interest in two city development sites as well as potentially winning the 140 William Street tender.
Multiplex this week announced that mounting losses from the group’s beleaguered Wembley Stadium reconstruction are now expected to wipe out most of the company’s projected profit for this financial year, saying rising costs at the $1 billion-plus UK project will likely cut its 2005-06 group profit by $165 million.
