Rio Tinto subsidiary, Hamersley Iron, will anchor Mirvac's $125 million redevelopment of the Wesley Quarter site, after signing a 10-year leasing deal this month for more than 13,000 square metres of refurbished office space.
Owned by the Uniting Church in Australia, the 6,900sq m site is bounded by William, Murray and Hay Streets and incorporates the Wesley Church, Wesley Arcade, Wesley Tower (95 William Street), and the Queens Building.
Hamersley is expected to occupy nine levels of the refurbished Wesley Tower as well as space in the former Wesley Arcade from October 2008.
The Wesley Quarter will comprise a total of 14,000sq m of office space and 3,500sq m of retail space around the Wesley Church forecourt including high-end fashion and alfresco dining.
Mirvac CEO Evan Campbell said the project would be the first to be completed during the revitalisation of this area of Perth.
"Hamersley Iron's staff will benefit from the surrounding amenity, convenient location, proximity to public transport, generous floor plan sizes and vibrancy of the area once the vision for the Wesley Quarter becomes a reality," he said.
Uniting Church general secretary, Dr John Evans, said he was not surprised the commercial and retail space at Wesley Quarter was in demand.
"When the Church embarked on this refurbishment and appointed Mirvac as development manager and advisor, it was our desire to ensure the quality of the buildings and the retail mix does justice to the location," Dr Evans said.
Jones Lang LaSalle national director office leasing and deal negotiator, David Evans, said Hamersley was taking advantage of a relatively unique commodity in the Perth office market by securing a whole-of-building lease
