It has taken 20 years for FJM Property director Adrian Fini’s vision to become reality, but the doors are open at the first hospitality venue at the Old Treasury Buildings, which have been rebranded as the State Buildings.
It has taken 20 years for FJM Property director Adrian Fini’s vision to become reality, but the doors are open at the first hospitality venue at the Old Treasury Buildings, which have been rebranded as the State Buildings.
The $100 million redevelopment is rapidly coming to the end of its construction phase, with the luxury Como The Treasury hotel to open later this month, followed by another three hospitality offerings in November.
But Mr Fini said this point wasn’t the end of his role at the State Buildings.
“This is the start of a very long journey from our perspective – after we open is when the reality comes,” Mr Fini told Business News.
“We’ve been involved in (this project) through two iterations and through three governments, so it’s an exciting day.”
Adrian Fini (L) and Kyle Jeavons at the blessing of the State Buildings earlier this week. Photo: Attila Csaszar
Last night, the hotel’s first hospitality venue was launched – a beer hall, wine bar and kitchen called The Petition.
The venue is a new venture from the team behind Little Creatures Brewing – Howard Cearns, Mr Fini, David Martin and Nic Trimboli.
To create The Petition, FJM Property also collaborated with architecture firm Spaceagency, which last year won an Australian Institute of Architects national prize for its work at Fremantle’s Bread in Common, another joint venture by Mr Fini and Mr Trimboli.
Three more venues will open by November at the hotel, including prominent chef Jed Gerrard’s Wildflower, which will take up residence in the building’s ‘glass box’ and chef David Thompson’s Long Chim Thai Restaurant. Another restaurant, Post, will be in the building’s basement.
The retail offering, which is expected to open at the same time the hotel opens in mid-October, also features a list of high-end Western Australian artisan-type operators, including fashion designer Aurelio Costarella, chocolatier Sue Lewis, florist Angela Broad and skincare specialist Katrina Snowden.
“It’s been complex and it’s been a lot of fun, but I think the project and what we were delivering here attracted the best,” Mr Fini said.
State Buildings project director Kyle Jeavons agreed that there was a distinct focus on building the best possible team to deliver the project.
“We’ve focused on having the buildings as a celebration of Western Australia, so all the retailers and the hospitality offerings are run by Western Australian people.
“That way we deliver a great experience for the public.”
Mr Jeavons said the directors of FJM Property would likely take a short break once the hotel and restaurants were all open, but said the developer would remain on the lookout for its next big project.
He said construction of a new function centre at FJM Property’s Mindarie Hotel would begin shortly. The developer was also evaluating opportunities to redevelop significant retail holdings in Claremont, Leederville and North Perth.
“There is a lot of opportunity in Perth, we still see it as a growing market and a great place to do business,” Mr Jeavons said.
“We’ll try and find more interesting things like this, probably not at this scale, but we just want to do great product that is innovative and unique and provides a point of difference for Perth.”
