Brookfield gains tower berth at Elizabeth Quay in Perth

Canada’s Brookfield is set to spark the development of Perth’s tallest tower at the city’s $2.6bn Elizabeth Quay.

Brookfield’s move would accelerate the development of Perth’s $2.6 billion Elizabeth Quay.

Canadian giant Brookfield is set to spark the development of Perth’s tallest tower at the gateway of the city’s $2.6 billion Elizabeth Quay precinct and is seeking partners for the luxury hotel component of the riverfront property.

The move would accelerate work on the final stage of the landmark precinct that has already ­attracted billions of dollars of investment from local and international heavyweights and will probably see a new five-star hotel brand gain a foothold in Australia.

Brookfield has been in exclusive talks to develop the premiere sites — lots 5 and 6 of Elizabeth Quay — since late 2014, but since that time Perth’s office leasing market has been hit by the resources slowdown.

The developer is now poised to lodge fresh plans for a large-scale staged development, keeping a strong commercial element but also including hotel, residential and retail components in its first tower.

Mixed-use complexes are being developed elsewhere in the precinct and are becoming more common in Australian cities after their success in Asia.

Hong Kong-backed Far East Consortium is undertaking The Towers at Elizabeth Quay, which will result in the 205-room, five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel as well as 379 residential apartments.

Perth property identity Adrian Fini also last month teamed up with Singapore tycoon Victor Goh to win an $85 million bid for the final lot at Elizabeth Quay that will also include office, retail and apartments, and education space.

Brookfield will pursue a two-tower project using a staged ­approach as it did when developing Perth’s twin-tower Brookfield Place. While the project is at a preliminary stage, Brookfield is keen to retain a commercial aspect given the central location of the site in the precinct.

The group’s sites are next to ­energy giant Chevron’s new Australian headquarters to be built on lots 7 and 8. The WA government in 2015 granted Chevron a two-year delay, but once it gets under way that tower would complement Brookfield plans that include a more commercially focused second tower.

The first tower would include two retail floors, 15,000sq m of ­office space, a 220-room luxury hotel and a similar number of apartments. Brookfield has tapped real estate firm CBRE to find a partner for the hotel ­development with an operator that could also brand the apartments. It will also test investor appetite for the office space among institutions.

The project has drawn early comparisons with developer Cbus Property’s Collins Arch precinct in Melbourne. Global hotel chain Marriott International will run a W Hotel in that complex after the hotel was pre-sold to Japan’s Daisho group for more than $220m last year.

Building the Perth tower would position Brookfield well for the city’s next development cycle.

The company declined to comment yesterday, but authorities are readying for the lodgement of its fresh plans.

“We’re in an exclusive working period with Brookfield and look forward to them delivering a premium product for Perth,” a Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority spokeswoman said.