56 Fort Street

56 Fort Street

An iconic Auckland character building is on offer to the market through agency, CB Richard Ellis. Dominic Ong, who is marketing the property, 56 Fort Street, says the property is expected to attract high interest because of the unique profile and location of the property.

“56 Fort Street comprises a freehold standalone fully refurbished office and retail building, providing character commercial accommodation and profile opposite the city’s greatest concentration of premium grade office towers,” says Mr Ong.

Particular care has been taken to preserve many of the original features of the building which Ong believes will be a major selling point for potential purchasers.

“The architect has left many of the timber beams exposed and stripped back the internal wall linings to show the original brick work, the building is simply superb,” says Mr Ong.

The Fort Street property is located in Auckland’s Central Business District on the western side of Fort Street. The property enjoys good exposure to Fort Street and is positioned between the 37 storey Oaks Serviced Apartment Tower and a refurbished 2 level character office building.

CBRE Investment Analyst, Brendan Keenan, says investors and owner occupiers are likely to view the Fort Street property as a strategic buy, by nature of its core CBD location in the city’s financial and legal hub.

“The area has undergone a massive urban transformation beginning with the development of the Vero Centre back in 1999. Over 80,000sqm of premium grade office space is offered across the Vero, Lumley and Deloitte Centres, breathing new life into this former red light district and boosting the local office population by approximately 7,000 people.”

Keenan says Fort Street straddles the city’s pre-eminent office address’ Shortland Street and Britomart.

“Westpac are moving into their new head offices at custom house next year, with Ernst & Young following suit in 2011. Future development has been mooted 1 block west of the property, with plans for a new Pullman Hotel to occupy the former Reserve Bank building on the corner of Customs Street West and Gore Street.”

Mr Ong believes the property’s proximity to major accountancy and legal practices is likely to appeal to owner occupiers of a similar nature.

“The ground floor space to Fort Street could suite a bar or office/showroom space. The growing inner city resident population and continued expansion of office workers in the immediate area would help underpin a retail/café use”, said Mr Ong.

According to Ong, recent rental evidence suggests the office component of the property would likely achieve net rents in the vicinity of $250 per sqm.

“This is in line with CBRE Research which places indicative rents for character space around $250 per sqm (net) per annum” says Ong.

“Character rents have achieved $350 per sqm net per annum for smaller stock in the more upmarket precinct of High Street. The gradual gentrification of the surrounding area is sure to place this property ahead of the pack in terms of rental growth” said Mr Ong.

Purchasers are likely to be attracted to the significant refurbishment works have also been recently carried out on the building including a new sprinkler system, new floor coverings, an overhaul of the buildings plumbing, electrical wiring, exterior and interior painting, and toilets and lighting.

The building is available is for sale by way of tender closing on the Wednesday 10th December.

About CB Richard Ellis

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2007 revenue). With over 29,000 employees, the Company serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices worldwide (excluding affiliate offices). CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. CB Richard Ellis is the only commercial real estate services company named one of the 50 “best in class” companies by BusinessWeek, and was also named one of the 100 fastest growing companies by Fortune. Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.

ENDS

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