Northern Star Resources and SRG Global are among a group of tenants to join Newmont in Subiaco’s 500 Hay Street, as its developer looks beyond the building's troubled history.
Singaporean developer Dradgin has announced environmental consultants RPS Group and SLR Consulting, Northern Star Resources and SRG Global would move to the building, also dubbed SubiXO.
The moves bring the office's occupancy to more than 90 per cent, which Dradgin says bucks the trend for the area and reflects a flight to quality.
Mineral Resources backed out of a deal to occupy the Hay Street office building and cited structural issues for its decision to move to the building, instead moving to Hersdman in 2020.
Dradgin entered a dispute with the building’s original owners Cooper & Oxley Builders during construction, which led Dradgin to appoint Doric Group to complete the build.
Dradgin Investment Manager Lynn Liang told Business News the company never had any doubts about the structural integrity of the building.
“We’ve had an independent engineering assessment of the building, as have all tenants," she explained.
"This is a validation of the building’s condition, also a validation of the tenants’ belief in Dradgin’s ability to deliver a quality building.
“We want to focus on the future rejuvenation of Subiaco.”
Ms Liang said Dradgin was in discussions with additional tenants to fill the vacant ground floor retail space next year.
“500 Hay St is a typical success story about targeting the right tenants in the right market," she added.
"Over the last 18 months there’s been a flight to quality, which has driven vacancy rates down in premium grade buildings.
“The interest has been very strong, there have been a lot of enquiries from mining companies and professional services. We are discussing opportunities with potential retail tenants, so 2023 is going to be an exciting year for us to execute our retail strategy."
Gold miner Newmont announced a move to the top floor of the five-storey building earlier this year, after the build was complete in 2020.
The building is part of a precinct over three towers with more than 24,000 square metres of A-grade office and retail space, alongside the 168 room 4.5-star Vibe Hotel Subiaco.
International hotel chain Park Regis initially intended to operate the hotel component, but pulled out prior to its opening.
RPS general manager for project management in WA David Humphry said his firm was drawn to the office for its amenity and that it was part of Subiaco’s new chapter.
SRG Global and Northern Star are relocating from existing offices in Subiaco, at 388 Hay Street and 338 Barker Road respectively.
