The investment firm says the $25 million Baille Hill project is similar in scale to Adrian Fini’s Leederville Hotel, which it is also is involved in.
Blackoak Capital Ventures boss Tim Mack says Victoria Park’s largest hospitality venue will operate at a similar scale to Adrian Fini’s Leederville Hotel, which Mr Mack also has a stake in.
The Perth investment group is taking on the operation of 1,200-person venue Baille Hill, which is set to open next Monday (January 19).
Blackoak Capital also has a significant ownership stake in the property, at Elizabeth Baille Reserve.
Mr Mack, who is the managing partner of Blackoak, is also a director of Adrian Fini’s, Barry Jones’ and David Mack’s family office FJM Property.
FJM is involved in operating major hospitality venues around Perth including Leederville Hotel and the State Buildings.
Mr Mack explained that Blackoak has established its own operating entity to run Baille Hill.
“It is structured in the same way as we do all of the other hospitality businesses I am involved in, in that we own the underlying investment then will have an operating entity which takes on the job of running the hospitality [business],” he said.
“The biggest [I’m involved in] is the State Buildings; this will be of a similar scale to operations such as Leederville Hotel or Mindarie Marina.”
Baille Hill marks the first Perth venue that Blackoak will directly operate.
It will also be the largest hospitality venue Victoria Park's cafe strip.
In the case of Leederville Hotel, Mr Mack is a unit holder in the trust that operates the business.
As the operator, Blackoak will employ about 100 staff to run Baille Hill, which is divided into five distinct precincts.
The venue also contains a gelato store, which Blackoak will operate, as well as a bakery and café that Blackoak has ownership stakes in.
The venue is set to open on January 19. Photo: Claire Tyrrell
Construction approach
Blackoak engaged Builden Construction to construct the development, which involved the restoration of a heritage-listed former maternity hospital into a hospitality precinct.
The project’s value has grown from about $12.5 million in its early stages to $25 million today.
It took five years from conception to completion, meaning it was proposed during COVID.
Builden constructed the project via a managing contractor model, rather than a fixed price contract.
“There were some surprises along the way, which … is typical of these kind of projects, and it is a tight construction environment in Western Australia, and has been for the last few years,” Mr Mack told Business News.
“There were some things along the way, but we’re really pleased how Builden worked with us to try and manage those as surprises come up through the construction process.”
He added that the building industry was moving away from fixed price contracts to models that provided greater flexibility as a job progressed.
“For these kind of projects … you don’t really know what there is to do until you strip out the building and undertake the demolition,” he said.
“There are a number of unknowns when you when you commence, which really lends itself to working through it piece by piece and dealing with problems as they arise.”
