The painstaking restoration of Perth’s State Buildings has been rewarded with the state’s top property award.
FJM Property was presented with the Property Council of Australia’s WA Development of the Year award at a cocktail reception.
“FJM Property’s vision, $80 million investment and eight-year commitment has restored a heritage icon, changing the streetscape of our CBD and creating a new destination for tourists and locals alike,” says the Property Council’s Executive Director in West Australia, Lino Iacomella.
The history of the three interconnected buildings, often called the Old Treasury buildings, stretches back to 1874, serving as the city’s the post office, treasury, public offices, the office of the Premier and Cabinet, as well as a police cell block.
The State Buildings had been lying dormant for nearly two decades before they were purchased by FJM Property and transformed into vibrant hospitality and retail precinct, and the home of luxury 48-suite hotel COMO: The Treasury.
“The attention to detail throughout the renovation, the innovative approaches used during construction and the commitment to quality make this project stand out from the pack,” Mr Iacomella says.
“The State Buildings Perth have been reinvented as Perth’s first six-star hotel, and demonstrate why thoughtful development can breathe new life into tired parts of our city.”
“If the Old Treasury’s walls could talk, they’d have a story or two to tell. And FJM Property’s vision and commitment will ensure they continue to be a part of Perth’s history for another century,” Mr Iacomella concludes.
The WA Development of the Year award is part of the national 2017 Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards program.
RLB has partnered with the Property Council of Australia to present the Innovation & Excellence Awards program since its inception in 1982.
The State Buildings Perth is also vying for the S4B Studio Award for Best Heritage Development at the national awards, which will be held in Sydney on Friday 5 May.
Other WA finalists include:
Calleya by Stockland (Master Planned Community and Project Innovation)
Cockburn Commercial Park by LandCorp (Business or Industrial Park)
GDI Property Group’s Mill Green (Sustainable Development – Existing)
Miriam Salter, Pritchard Francis (Future Leader)
Newhaven by Stockland (Master Planned Community)
FJM Property’s State Buildings Perth (Heritage Development)
Stockland Baldivis (Shopping Centre Development)
Stockland’s Vale (Master Planned Community)
CRISTAL Washroom Monitor (Project Innovation)
LandCorp’s WGV at White Gum Valley (Development Innovation)
Stockland’s Whiteman Edge (Affordable Housing Development).