Fremantle's Marine House to get a renovation and new tenants
A rare opportunity to lease one of Fremantle’s landmark buildings is up for grabs, with Marine House to welcome new tenants from July 2020 after it undergoes a substantial refurbishment.
The building, about 200 metres from Fisherman’s Wharf and the Fremantle cafe strip and which features 3640 square metres of office space and onsite parking for 39 cars, is in the midst of a revamp following the departure of its tenant the Department of Transport.
Knight Frank partner and joint head of office leasing Greg McAlpine said now was the perfect time for the approximate 20-year-old building, owned by private investors, to be overhauled.
“We are transforming it and it will bought up to an A-grade standard, and it would have been [A-grade] in its day when it was built,” he said.
“It still looks great and we are doing a lot of changes to it.”
A new lobby, new entrance and facade, as well as upgrades to lifts, security, lighting and airconditioning are among the refurbishments set to take place at the five-level building over
the next 12 months.
New end-of-trip facilities, including bike storage and lockers, showers and change rooms will also be added.
The Essex Street site is steeped in history as it was once Captain Manning’s residence, which was constructed in 1868 before it was demolished in 1985.
According to the Heritage Council State Heritage Office, the site is considered significant because it “was an early and distinctive residence on the corner of Essex Street and Marine Terrace, owned by Captain Lucius Manning”.
The Manning family came to Australia in the 1830s and became the biggest landowners in Fremantle.
The site was also home to a warehouse and its various uses over its lifetime included a school, a lemonade factory, a tailors, which were a representation of the “changing nature of industry in the port”.
Available spaces within the office building include an 805 to 955-square-metre ground floor tenancy, first and second floors of 1039 square metres and a third floor comprising 607 square metres.
“This will be among the best office space in Fremantle at a time when the city is undergoing a major transformation with significant new development and investment,” Mr McAlpine said.
“It will suit a tenant or tenants wanting to offer employees a unique work-life balance in a beautifully refurbished building in an ideal coastal location.”
