Hardware giant Bunnings is trading its long-established Wonthella base for a new home at the $30-million expansion of the Geraldton Homemaker Centre.
The addition of the hardware giant will effectively double the size of the North West Coastal Highway precinct 376km north of Perth into two parallel buildings totalling 38,471sq m of floor space.
The City of Greater Geraldton has approved the plans, and Bunnings and Harvey Norman are confirmed as the main tenants.
Bunnings is to occupy 16,743sq m and Harvey Norman would take 5072sq m, while four additional bulky goods showrooms will comprise another 3975 square metres.
Bunnings director of property Garry James confirmed that “a development application, led by a third-party developer, is in progress for a new homemaker centre in Geraldton, which includes a proposed new Bunnings store”.
The expansion will involve the demolition of 3705sq m of existing space while retaining 12,681 square metres.
Construction will extend behind current premises and east towards Place Road, converting the U-shaped building into separate structures.
The Geraldton Homemaker Centre is owned by Harvey Norman, which purchased the 4.7ha retail complex for $28.25 million in 2021 from Brisbane-based Sentinel Property Group.
Sentinel had acquired the centre in 2015 for $27.3 million as its first Western Australian investment and sold it as part of its strategy to reduce its retail property footprint.
Also in Geraldton, mining company Fenix Resources is developing a $30-million worker accommodation village comprising 60 homes off Ord Street near the North West Coastal Highway.
Executive chair John Welborn said the move had become necessary thanks to Geraldton’s challenging housing market.
“In order to provide us with the ability to continue to create new employment, we’ve somewhat reluctantly been forced into the property development game,” Welborn said.
The residential could be built to sell or built to rent, Welborn said, and that completion was estimated for 2026.
Fenix development mining magnate Gina Rinehart in May of this year revealed plans for a $250-million business hub at West Perth through her company Hancock Prospecting.
The multi-storey complex would span more than 3500sq m across 27-35 Outram Street and 46 Ord Street, West Perth, accommodating workers from Hancock’s mining, energy, agriculture and property divisions.
The proposal follows four years of planning and $41 million in land acquisitions by Rinehart, who has expanded her West Perth property portfolio significantly since 2021 through the purchase of five office buildings over 20 months.
