MARKETING communications consultancy The Shorter Group has moved to East Perth after more than two years looking for new premises and a further 12 months refurbishing the site.
Director Debra Shorter said the company wanted to relocate to East Perth. She said the company wanted to be accessible to the Perth CBD without being in it, providing clients with easy access to the group.
“We were certainly excited about what was happening in East Perth and it was only subsequent to deciding to go to East Perth that we started looking at a site,” she said.
The firm paid $2.75 million for the two-storey, 2,800 square metre 1959 building and spent the next year designing the interior using one of its divisions, Shorter Design 3.
The new building is about 2.5 times larger than Shorter’s old premises in City West and has scope for expansion. A portion of the building will be leased.
The Group has more than 50 staff operating nine specialist divisions including 2D and 3D design, advertising, marketing, media buying and public relations. Christine Silbert joined the group recently after running her own public relations firm and now heads Shorter PR.
Mrs Shorter said it was not until the building had been purchased that some of its features became apparent. In some cases false walls and ceilings concealed some beautiful features, she said.
The firm also found the building had been designed to maximise natural light, which helped reduce energy costs. The building does not need fluorescent lighting during the day.
While the building had been designed ahead of its time in terms of energy efficiency, the same could not be said for telecommunications infrastructure. Mrs Shorter said because the building had been built prior to computers it was a major challenge to accommodate and conceal communication cables used throughout the building.
