Updated
Oil and gas giant Chevron has finally committed to moving its new headquarters to Perth’s Elizabeth Quay after years of delays, but planners concede it will be at least five years until the waterfront precinct is fully developed.
Key points:
- Chevron’s new WA headquarters will come at a cost of $360 million
- It is the latest of several big developments planned for Elizabeth Quay
- Developer Brookfield says it is a vote of confidence in the Perth property market
Four years after Chevron first requested to delay the major Perth office development, the company has signed an agreement with developer Brookfield to build a 29-storey tower on the corner of Barrack Street and the Esplanade at Elizabeth Quay.
Construction of the $360 million project is due to begin next year, with the tower expected to be completed in 2023.
Brookfield managing partner Sophie Fallman said the development was a vote of confidence in the Perth office rental market, which has been plagued by extremely high vacancy rates amid an economic slowdown in recent years.
“For a while we have seen a lot of signs of confidence and growth,” she said.
“We see this as a great demonstration of the ongoing growth of the office market.”
Quay masterplan coming to life
The Chevron site is one of several Elizabeth Quay projects planned for the remaining vacant lots surrounding the inlet.
Pre-building work has commenced on an apartment and hotel development on the west side of the quay, with full construction due to start in 2020.
Brookfield also has plans for a twin-tower development, including one of Perth’s tallest buildings, while a foreign-backed consortium purchased the final Elizabeth Quay site in 2017.
Residents have already begun moving into a nearly complete apartment development, while a Ritz-Carlton hotel is due to open later this year.
But Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said it would still be some time until Elizabeth Quay was fully built out.
“I suspect it will be another five to six years until it is all built out, but that will depend on the market,” Ms Saffioti said.
“Brookfield is still looking for other participants in relation to their project … so it will depend how much confidence we can get back into the market.
“We are going through supporting the projects and getting them off the ground.”
Elizabeth Quay opened in early 2016, with then premier Colin Barnett estimating at the time that the private construction surrounding the inlet would take five to seven years.
Topics: state-parliament, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, building-and-construction, perth-6000, wa
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