The heritage-listed Fremantle police station in Western Australia has been sold to a private buyer after the sales team was able to successfully market the property to local investors.
Burgess Rawson’s Matthew Wright, Raoul Holderhead and Brodie Keay, in conjunction with Empire Property’s Craig White, negotiated the sale of the prominent government-leased property on High St, in the heart of the Fremantle CBD.
Mr White said the nature of the property made it incredibly unique to sell and they needed to find the right buyer.
“Fremantle is a fantastic place from a heritage point of view and especially being in the western precinct,” Mr White said.
“However, for people outside of Fremantle, it becomes quite daunting.”
He said the building had the highest grade heritage listing, which could have deterred developers and investors.
The building was previously purchased by a Melbourne investor in 2018, however, Mr White said he felt it would be more suited to a local who understood the area and the potential Fremantle has over the next decade.
“We focused on finding someone who had that Fremantle connection and fortunately we were able to do that,” he said.
Mr White said he worked with Burgess Rawson to try and market the property to as many local investors as possible.
The property featured a recently renewed 4.5-year lease, with options, to the Western Australian Government, with WA Police occupying the premises as the Fremantle Police Headquarters.
However, plans are in place for a new Fremantle police station, which is scheduled to start construction in the next few years.
Situated on a 1040sq m CBD site, with dual frontage, the property comprises a substantial 2059sq m building spread over three levels, including 18 secure basement car spaces and is zoned City Centre.
The estimated net rental income is $448,980 per annum, combined with an 8.9 per cent yield.
Mr White said the state government hds proposed that the Fremantle port would eventually move to Kwinana, which meant there was likely to be considerable redevelopment across the city, which will only benefit commercial property longer-term.
He said there had been a number of higher-profile sales in Fremantle to locals and that’s a trend he believed would continue.
“It was just interesting to get feedback from national and international buyers and what we had told the seller initially pretty much came to fruition,” he said.
‘It needed to have someone with a Fremantle connection.”
