The City of Perth council has given real estate investment company Centuria the green light to embark on a $5 million revamp of the Fauldings Building on Murray Street,a two-storey post-gold boom building dating back to the late 1890s.
The Fauldings Building on Murray Street will soon be occupied by Fendi and Cartier.Cox Architecture.
The building,purchased by Centuria in 2007 for $12.5 million,has been vacant since the departure of middle-market clothing retailer Country Road in August 2022.
Cox Architecture lodged plans to undertake a host of works in late 2022,including lowering the elevated base floor level to match that of Murray Street,installing full-length windows and removing the external cement render to expose the original brickwork.
It is understood the lease deals with the two luxury brands hinged on the works being approved.
A photograph of 307-313 Murray Street taken back in 1986.F.A. Sharr,via the Heritage Council WA
The city’s planning officers had sought to have the elevated floor retained to safeguard the fabric and character typical of a 1890s warehouse.
But Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas moved to have the plan approved as requested by Cox at Tuesday night’s council meeting,saying the city would be economically enhanced by the arrival of the luxury brands on Murray Street,which he said was going through a “stunning renaissance”.
Though the identity of the two brands was not divulged in the plans lodged with the council,WAtoday understands the prospective tenants are Fendi and Cartier.
It is not yet clear whether lease agreements have been formally inked,butWAtoday understands the two luxury brands could be operating from the new premises within the next year.
Centuria and Cox Architecture were both approached for comment.
The new stores would be wedged between international hotelier Mantra and German fashion house Hugo Boss,which relocated to Murray Street in 2021.
They would also sit adjacent to Raine Square,which has been home to luxury brands Tiffany&Co.,Louis Vuitton and Chanel since they left King Street over the course of the past three years.
At the time,at least two of the three global fashion brands were rumoured to have been “poached” from the upmarket strip,with their lease agreements paid out and fit-out incentives offered to seal the deal.
Chanel moved to the heritage-listed Wentworth building at Raine Square in 2021,with the fit-out alone costing upwards of $14 million.
There are currently at least eight ground-floor vacancies along the 350-metre King Street strip,which was once regarded Perth’s premier fashion destination.
It is understood Gucci,one of the last remaining international luxury retailers left on the strip,is also eyeing a tenancy in Raine Square.
But Raine Square’s leasing agents Charter Hall were unable to confirm the speculation.
The move comes as new data reveals luxury sales in Australia could reach $5 billion in the next five years,with analysts Ibis World predicting sales revenue will grow 5.4 per cent annually to 2027.
At the meeting,Zempilas revealed the total local spend in the city for the month of January was 19 per cent higher than the corresponding levels of the previous year.
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