Developer Finbar making an impact in WA desert
Little-known Perth-based developer Finbar is making an impressive mark on the face of Karratha in the Pilbara.
The developer, which has made its name developing high-rise apartments with some office space around Perth, is shaping the future of accommodation in the mining boom town.
Its $225 million Pelago project on Sharpe Avenue, Karratha will have 292 residential apartments and 22 commercial lots.
In stage 1 – called Pelago West – 63 apartments have been sold for $44.5 million. In another deal, nine apartments have been leased to CHC, one of the world’s largest helicopter transport companies. The leases are for five years with 4% or CPI increases annually. The average rent is $1,100 a week, and CHC has agreed to $16,000 per unit for furniture and equipment and the company pays all shire rates, management fees, land tax, water rates and strata levies.
Finbar is offering the nine one-bedroom apartments for sale for $609,300 – which includes a $16,300 furniture package – reflecting a net yield of 9.36%.
Pelago West has 114 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with eight commercial lots over eight levels. It is expected to be finished in the first quarter of 2012, and building is running to schedule.
Karratha, which is 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, is the important administration centre for resource companies operating in the region. It has a large population of fly-in fly-out workers, and a growing number of people live there. The WA government has targeted the town as part of its $300 million Pilbara Cities project, which is attempting to create a Dubai-style city in Karratha with satellites in Dampier and Port Hedland.
Finbar was first cab off the rank and is now turning its attention to the second stage of the project, Pelago East.
Regional Development and Lands Minister Brendon Grylls recently announced $30.4 million from the Royalties for Regions fund to build a village for workers in Karratha, including 100 houses to be developed by National Lifestyle Villages.
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