Westralia tenant revealed

Liberty Flexible Workspaces has signed a 10-year lease to occupy more than 1,700 square metres at hybrid timber tower Westralia Square 2.

The deal follows Arup’s commitment as anchor tenant in the GDI Property Group asset and is Liberty Flexible Workspaces’ single largest leasing agreement.

Business News foreshadowed the leasing transaction in January last year, when GDI pencilled agreements to bring the first two tenants into its hybrid timber tower.

Arup is currently fitting out its offices in the 12-storey tower, after inking a deal to occupy 2,600sqm across three floors in mid-2023.

Liberty is set to deliver boardrooms, event space, an executive lounge, break out and co-working spaces and project offices across two floors in the building.

Liberty Flexible Workspaces founder Jamie Vine said the sustainability of the building was a drawcard for him, as well as the potential to create a unique product for clients.

“We have found that people are expecting higher standards from their offices, like access to a range of spaces, and they expect a hospitality led experience which is redefining the office and has significant influence over their physical attendance at work,” he said.

Its WS2 space, across 1,733sqm, is expected to be complete by July this year.

Liberty Flexible Workspaces' WS2 fit out. Image: Woods Bagot and PAID Architecture

GDI Property Group head of development David Ockenden said the WS2 tower, completed last year, represented a step change in construction, with an 85 per cent reduction in embodied carbon compared with a concrete structure.

“This partnership with Liberty will ensure people using these offices will get all the benefits of quality space and hotel-like service while being conscious of their environmental impacts, which are becoming increasingly important to employers and their staff,” he said.

This type of passive environmental action for office users is an important element in GDI’s decision making when looking at adaptive reuse and engineering design for our developments.

The tower, alongside GDI’s existing Westralia Square 1, was built on spec, meaning without any leasing pre-commitments, above the carpark at 141 St Georges Terrace.

GDI Property Group told the ASX today it remained “relentlessly focused on its leasing efforts in Perth to maximise the value of its current assets in both the property and funds management business.”

GDI’s shares were up 1.65 per cent to 62 cents at the time of writing.