Northbridge development site in WA at heart of suburb's revitalization

The Paolucci Group, one of Western Australia’s large property owners, has moved to sell a prized piece of real estate in the heart of Northbridge.

Located directly opposite Perth City Link and the recently opened Yagan Square, the property at 189–199 William Street is touted as being one of the most highly anticipated development opportunities, forming an integral part of the repositioning of Perth’s urban core. 

The 3,721sqm mixed use site is slated for a transformational development, consisting of two 29-storey towers and one 14-storey tower – home to some 190 residential apartments, 127 hotel rooms, retail, food & beverage amenity and public open space. 

The proposed project, designed by international architects HASSELL, holds potential to create a pedestrian thoroughfare connecting William Street, James Street, Nick’s Lane and Roe Street - becoming the new epicentre of Northbridge. 

CBRE’s Aaron Desange and Kate Foley are marketing the project on behalf of The Paolucci Group, who has owned the site for 12 years. 

“The opportunity to acquire a privately-owned site of this scale and in this location – which is not a State Government release is truly rare and unlikely to be repeated in the near future," Desange said.

"This is an opportunity to undertake what will be a multi-generational development with long-lasting significance in Perth’s most desirable and fastest evolving urban precinct,” Mr Desange said. 

The property is currently known as Arcade 189 and comprises a two-storey arcade incorporating ground floor retail and food & beverage. 

Tenants include Ezra Pound, No Mafia and Taylorweir International School of Hairdressing on the upper level, in addition to an 89-bay Wilson carpark. The fully leased property provides an annual income of over $1.5 million with a WALE of 3.5 years. 

CBRE selling agent Kate Foley said the opportunity would attract interest from a wide range of buyers, including offshore and domestic developers. 

“The site’s position opposite one of Perth’s largest redevelopment projects, Perth City Link – connecting the city to Northbridge for the first time in 100 years – is a unique opportunity that we expect will be strongly contested,” Foley said. 

“We anticipate strong interest from Asian groups given the attractive holding income, central location, landmark nature of the site and significant scale of development potential.

"These offshore groups are highly active in the Perth market, with groups from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong – all having secured landmark development sites already.” 

Desange said a number of these groups from Asia are solely interested in the ability to develop premium sites that are then held generationally.

“Market participation for prime sites is generating significant competition among buyers who recognise an opportune time to secure land and benefit from future growth in the Perth market.  Additionally, a number of these offshore parties have access to large amounts of pent up capital and are forming joint venture partnerships with local developers to bolster their onshore expertise.”