The iron ore giant looks to be preparing to relocate its Perth HQ to a new Brookfield tower.
Rio Tinto appears to be a step closer to relocating its Perth headquarters to Elizabeth Quay, as Brookfield lodges plans for a new office tower in the waterfront precinct.
Business News understands that the iron ore giant has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brookfield Properties to move into a new building in the quay.
Brookfield this month has lodged plans for a 27-storey office tower with a café and restaurant for Lot 5 in Elizabeth Quay with the state government.
Several industry sources say that Rio Tinto will be the anchor tenant for this building, which is expected to comprise about 57,000 square metres of office space.
Rio Tinto currently occupies 30,000sqm in Central Park, jointly owned by Perron Group and Fraser Group, and 8,500sqm in Charter Hall’s Raine Square.
It also runs its remote operations centre from Perth Airport, and it is unclear whether that part of the business will move as well.
Rio Tinto’s lease in Central Park expires in 2030, which coincides with the expected completion of Brookfield’s new office tower.
Business News understands that Rio Tinto has told Central Park’s owners that it plans to move out of the building.
Lot 5, or 15 The Esplanade, is Brookfield’s only undeveloped site in Elizabeth Quay, with the developer completing One The Esplanade for Chevron in 2023 and Nine The Esplanade last year.
Brookfield Properties confirmed that it has lodged a development application for a 27-storey office building on Lot 5 in Elizabeth Quay, but said it had no other updates.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson said the company regularly reviewed its office requirements, but did not confirm whether it was moving to Elizabeth Quay.
“Like any large organisation, we review our office space requirements from time to time,” the spokesperson said.
“Any potential future decisions will be made in the best interests of our business and our people.”
Brookfield's proposed 27-storey tower. Image: Cox Architecture
Brookfield Properties in late 2020 gained approval for a 55-storey hotel, residential and office tower on the site, but that has since lapsed.
Brookfield’s latest move would represent the only significant new office development in Perth since 19-storey Nine The Esplanade, which is fully tenanted.
Rio Tinto has been signalling its intention to shift its headquarters for several years, with developers vying to develop an asset for the miner.
The company in late 2024 refined its search for a new Perth office down to Brookfield’s 15 The Esplanade and the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Prior to that, there were talks that it might move into Victor Goh’s Lot 4 in Elizabeth Quay, but the miner moved away from that plan.
When the state government pulled funding for the PCEC redevelopment, Rio Tinto’s options were narrowed down further.
The scale of Rio’s footprint would mean it would likely be the sole occupant for the Elizabeth Quay Tower.
Brookfield is likely to commence building its new office tower in Elizabeth Quay before the end of the year, with completion targeted for 2030.
The global developer typically appointed tier one contractor Multiplex for all of its projects, but given Brookfield's recent divestment of Multiplex to Japanese Obayashi Corporation, this may not neccesarily be the case in future.
Perron Group was contacted for comment.
Cox Archicture has designed a new office tower for Brookfield. Image: Cox Architecture
