Securing a tenant of this calibre as part of a whole-building pre-commitment is an outcome most owners aspire to and comparatively few achieve. It removes leasing risk at the point it is most acute, provides certainty during the delivery phase, and allows the fit-out to be planned around a known occupier rather than a speculative one.
That result reflects both the quality of the redevelopment and a leasing campaign that engaged the right occupier market early, well before the building reached the open market in its completed form.
Comprising approximately 1,500sqm across two levels, 56 Marine Terrace has been comprehensively redeveloped into A-Grade office accommodation. The architecturally designed building sits directly opposite Esplanade Park, adjacent to Fremantle’s West End heritage precinct, the University of Notre Dame, the retail and hospitality core, the railway station and the harbour.
The redevelopment was undertaken with contemporary workplace expectations firmly in mind:
The result is a building that meets the operational, amenity and staff-wellbeing standards that institutional and Government occupiers now regard as baseline rather than optional.
The commitment of a Federal Government Agency to approximately 1,500sqm of Fremantle office space is a meaningful indicator of where the market is heading.
Fremantle is no longer competing solely on lifestyle appeal. Sustained infrastructure investment, the defence-led demand emerging under the AUKUS framework, and the ongoing civic renewal of the city centre are converging to attract occupiers that would previously have defaulted to the Perth CBD.
This transaction follows Norfolk Commercial’s joint agency involvement in the leasing of Marine House at 1 Essex Street, approximately 3,600sqm office building whose tenant mix spans maritime, defence and ocean research sectors. Together, the two results point to the same conclusion: institutional-calibre tenants are actively choosing Fremantle, and well-positioned A-Grade stock is being absorbed; in this instance, before it was even developed.
For owners, the distinction between assets that attract this calibre of tenant and those that do not continues to sharpen. Building quality, security provisions, ESG credentials and professional positioning are increasingly decisive.
Norfolk Commercial is a boutique agency operating exclusively in commercial property, with offices in Fremantle and Subiaco providing genuine on-the-ground presence across Perth’s key commercial precincts north and south of the river. The team’s client base spans sophisticated investors, family offices, SMSF trustees, property syndicates, institutional investors and Government agencies.
If you own or are considering acquiring commercial property in Fremantle or Perth’s western suburbs, and would like a confidential discussion about leasing strategy, asset positioning or sale, our team is available to assist.
AUKUS-driven defence investment is reshaping demand for high-grade office space in Fremantle. For commercial property owners, specialist local leasing expertise is now critical.
Norfolk Commercial has completed the leasing of 56 Marine Terrace, Fremantle, securing a Federal Government Agency as tenant of the newly redeveloped A-Grade office building in the heart of Fremantle’s West End.
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