Mining Magnate to Drop $19.5m on West Perth Office Refit

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart will be a step closer to painting the town pink should her Roy Hill HQ refit amendments be approved.

Rinehart has actively been snagging West Perth office buildings.

Hancock Prospecting’s executive chair owns six office buildings in the area. She bought five of those in 20 months between 2021-22 during a spending spree totalling around $100m.

West Perth is now experiencing a resurgence, thanks in part to her tactical acquisitions. And Rinehart has a bold vision to add to the appeal of West Perth as a commercial hub.

She plans to move her Roy Hill Prospecting headquarters to the five-storey building she bought at 53 Ord Street for $60 million in July 2022.

The building was originally designed by Bollig Design Group and constructed by Pivot Group in 2002. It was the former home to oil and gas giant Santos.

It features precast concrete beams and stressed hollowcore planks providing structural integrity and unique aesthetics, which may soon become even more unique.

She’s secured planning approval from the City of Perth for a $19.5 million refit, which includes a significantly altered exterior covered by a wash of pink petal-shaped exterior fins that will immediately set the site apart from its surroundings. 

▲ Daytime render of the pink facade of the proposed Roy Hill HQ refit. Cox Architecture.

A development application amendment lodged by Cox Architecture also request increased building height to “accommodate building services and plants, with screens to prevent views from any location external to the site”.

Cox was unwilling to confirm to The Urban Developer whether the fins are purely aesthetic or if they have any functional purpose.

Construction partners PACT says the “the intelligent kinetic facade, a bold and innovative design that pushes the envelope by creating a striking profile on all elevations”.

“The reimagining of the building’s envelope and facade by Cox Architecture will significantly improve and enhance both the internal workplace environment and the external appearance of the building.”

Preliminary works began in December 2023, with partial demolition and construction following.

No stranger to making confident statements, Rinehart wants this refit to reflect the dynamic and forward-thinking nature of the West Perth business community. 

The refit provides ample office space, increased parking for employees and visitors and landscaped garden areas creating an inviting outdoor environment.

The building’s exterior will show the power of colour to create a strong visual impact and enhance the overall aesthetic of a structure, as well as Rinehart’s commitment to breast cancer awareness. Rinehart lost her mother, Hope, to the disease in 1983.

Roy Hill also runs fleets of pink trucks, locomotives, ore cars and mining equipment as part of its ongoing awareness campaign.

‘Glued in’

Meanwhile, The Guardian news site reported another WA mining billionaire was investing in amenities at his Perth head office.

Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison said he had banned work-from-home at his diversified resources company.

“Head office is a place that a lot of our people want to be, and they love working in there,” Ellison was quoted as saying.

“We’ve got a restaurant in there, we’ve also got a gym, and we’ve got other facilities that keep them glued in there.”