Plans for Kings Square retail component unveiled

Kings Square projectWest Australian-based property developer Sirona Capital has unveiled its plans for the over 5,500sqm retail component of its $270 million Kings Square project in Fremantle.

The Kings Square project in the CBD, which had been pushed back for more than three years, will offer a mix of food and dining, arts, apparel, homewares and a marketplace, according to Matthew McNeilly, Sirona Capital managing director.

McNeilly said the vicinity would comprise up to 40 different tenants, with over 50 per cent of those planned to be food and beverage operators.

FOMO will sit beneath the three levels of office space and will offer several precincts: the Daily, Street Alley, Tidal Lane, Newman Court and The Emporium – a 1500sqm two-storey space starting in the basement.

Kings Square’s retail concept FOMO, a popular acronym for the phrase ‘fear of missing out’ and also stands for ‘Freo on my own’.

Discussions are already under way with potential tenants, with Sirona Capital partnering with Lease Equity managing director Jim Tsagalis for the leasing campaign.

“We’re going to let creativity run wild,” McNeilly said on the project’s design, undertaken by international architecture firm HASSEL for the commercial building, while international consultants HDR designed the retail components of the development.

“This part of the development is best described as a mix of art, design, culture and retail… an opportunity to have multiple personalities; I see performance at night on a stage in The Emporium, where during the day there’s a fresh food market,” McNeilly added.

Construction on the revitalisation, which is a joint project between Sirona Capital and the City of Fremantle, kicked off earlier this month with the project expected to be completed in late 2019.

The Kings Square project will create new commercial, retail and office spaces, as well as a new administration and civic centre for Fremantle.

McNeilly said the project’s difference to stock standard shopping centres was providing tenants with a flexible leasing arrangement to accommodate seasonality.

“If olives aren’t selling one day then they might sell something else the next,” he said. “I think there’ll be tenants doing three or four different things; I can see fashion in one corner, a hairdresser in the other and a juice bar all in the same tenancy. I also see FOMO as an opportunity for brands that are not yet known to establish themselves.”

Some of Perth’s community were engaged during the design process and as part of building FOMO people will be invited to partake in ‘FOMO FREO COLOUR’ – a paint-in where the community can create a work that illustrates what Fremantle means to them.

City of Fremantle mayor Brad Pettit said FOMO would reflect the heritage of the port city and the people who shape it.

“Created in many ways by the community for the community, FOMO will be a hub of art, architecture, culture, retail and food experiences unique to Fremantle’s identity,” he said.

“This ambitious redevelopment will be a trigger for renewal and will provide a massive economic boost for surrounding areas.”

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