Property

It has been more than three years in the making, but Kings Park’s Next Generation health and racquet club has opened for business.

The founder of Western Australia’s largest privately owned retirement village and aged-care business believes further consolidation is likely as big players seek to maximise profits and smaller players look to exit the sector.

Fini Group founder Tony Fini has negotiated a $180 million deal to sell his retirement village portfolio to investment bank Babcock & Brown and prominent retirement village player Primelife Corporation Ltd.

Labour and material shortages may be hurting some builders, but most in the industry are enjoying a period of above-average profits, according to a survey of Western Australia’s largest builders.

Dunsborough real estate agents the De Chiera family will merge their Professionals agency with local competitors Stocker Preston and Down South Realty from July 1.

It has been three years since Indonesian real estate mogul Mimi Wong went on a $20 million spending spree in Western Australia, buying two prime sites in the CBD and Burswood with plans to develop high-rise apartments.

The rising cost of bricks and building labour in Western Australia has led some building companies and their clients to switch to pre-manufactured walling products made of glass fibre, gypsum plaster and polystyrene.

The Town of Cottesloe is claiming a victory against construction giant Multiplex after the Court of Appeal overturned a State Administrative Tribunal decision approving a 6-storey development proposal for the iconic Cottesloe Beach Hotel.

With the ink drying on SAS Global’s $61 million deal to buy the OneSteel site in North Fremantle, neighbouring McCabe Street joint-venture developer Australian Finance Group Ltd is focused on raising capital for its own acquisition.

Perth’s tallest office building will get a splash of neon colour next month following a deal signed last week with Central Park tenant St George Bank to take on the lucrative signage rights.

State and federal governments’ focus on climate change policy initiatives is expected to lift the prospects of a range of Western Australian businesses dealing with environmental products in coming years.

The developers of central Perth’s biggest construction site in waiting, the former Emu Brewery site, are set to appoint a builder next month.

Despite having received Western Australian Planning Commission approval more than four years ago, the Riverside Pier Hotel project at Barrack Square has yet to get off the ground due to a failure to secure a stage two building licence.

Consolidation activity is under way among boutique residential agencies aiming to remain competitive as the property sector continues to soften.

The Sarich family’s Cape Bouvard Investments Pty Ltd has made further investments in Mandurah, securing 9.9 hectares of land at 20 Hungerford Avenue Halls Head last week for $22.5 million.

Aged-care living is attracting the attention of major investors as increasing numbers of baby boomers prepare to move into retirement housing.

Forget Sydney, Melbourne and London, 28-year-old Kareena May believes Perth is full of opportunities for young, creative professionals.

Lengthy construction timetables in the CBD have led to an increase in the number of tenants seeking rentals in mid-sized office developments in West Perth and fringe city areas.

QUBE Property Group is set to expand into retail development with a proposed $30 million shopping centre in Beechboro.

As the crisis in available office space in the CBD continues, building owners are bringing refurbished space back into supply this year to take advantage of soaring rents.

Getting things done in regional Western Australia may have its frustrations – amplified right now by skills shortages and overstretched bureaucracy – but Barry Humfrey reckons local knowledge is the key to success.

The City of Perth may introduce incentives to encourage developers to meet Australian Building Greenhouse Rating and the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star principles.

East Fremantle’s historic Trade-winds Hotel on Canning Highway is undergoing a $1 million renovation of its restaurant and beer garden.

The Western Australian Cricket Association’s $250 million plan to redevelop its ground into a 30,000-seat stadium alongside two 17-storey residential towers has prompted the WA Trotting Association, which owns the adjacent Gloucester Park, to delay finali

Retirement village developer National Lifestyle Villages is putting the final touches to the design of its new flagship lifestyle village at 891 Mandurah Road, Rockingham.

Ramsay Health Care Ltd is gearing up for one of its biggest jobs yet, with the $276 million redevelopment of the Joondalup Health Campus planned for completion by 2010.

Cape Bouvard Developments is confident the continued strength of the local commercial market will vindicate its decision to hold off from chasing an anchor tenant for its proposed $100 million project on Mounts Bay Road.

The Town of Vincent plans to seek formal expressions of interest from developers for a proposed $650 million mixed-use redevelopment of two hectares of rare land in Leederville.

Those hoping for relief in CBD rents may be disappointed, despite the expected increase in Perth office space in coming years.

Western Australian regional building and property group, Perkins Pty Ltd, has taken a 50 per cent stake in Perth-based swimming pool contractor, AVP Construction, which has a major foothold in Sydney.

The ongoing dispute between the Town of Victoria Park and the City of Belmont over the fate of Belmont Park racecourse will come to a head next week at what is expected to be a fiery round of public hearings.

Rod Mollett has wasted no time in his new role as president of the local chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in echoing calls for Perth to embrace what many claim is a once in a lifetime opportunity.