New commercial hub in Wynyard Quarter

4.12.2019

New commercial hub in Wynyard Quarter expected to attract early tenant pre-commitment

Auckland’s flagship Wynyard Quarter is about to be further boosted by a new commercial development that will take its place alongside Silo Park, and amongst North Wharf, GridAKL, the Auckland Fish Market and VXV.

Orams Marine, headquartered in Beaumont Street, has been given the green light to extend its already significant interests within Wynyard Quarter.

Site18 will comprise a high-quality mixed-use development, seemingly connecting Beaumont Street through to the water’s edge.

The $140 million Orams Marine Village project will include two commercial buildings, incorporating office, retail and marine trade with a total gross floor area of 6,507 square metres. These buildings will add vital office space to the area which has had zero commercial vacancy since July 2018.

The development will be one of only two office buildings – and the only A-grade building – on Westhaven Marina, the largest marina in the southern hemisphere.

With almost 100 percent of the current commercial development pipeline already pre-committed, news of the new mixed-use project is expected to resonate with commercial occupiers who have a huge appetite for space in this world-class urban precinct.

Notably, the precinct has attracted strong uptake by serious players in the corporate arena with six Fortune 100 businesses now based in the Wynyard Quarter and five NZX/ASX-listed companies choosing to position their New Zealand headquarters there, showing confidence in the location and its revitalisation.

High-profile multinationals and New Zealand brands like Apple, IBM, Datacom, HP, Microsoft, Bayleys, Fonterra, Genesis, Air New Zealand, Augusta and ASB have all cemented a corporate presence within the area and this flight to quality is expected to continue as Auckland’s economic centre of gravity moves westward away from the traditional CBD.

Bayleys has been appointed as the exclusive agency for commercial leasing within the Orams Marine Village, with Brendan Graves, James Thorburn and Polly Markus handling the office leasing and Ranesh Parmar, the hospitality and retail opportunities.

Graves says a predicted 25,000 people will be working in the Wynyard Quarter by 2030 and with 2.3 million people visiting the area in 2018 – a 209 percent increase in visitation numbers on 2012 – the potential commercial opportunities cannot be underestimated.

“We understand that 23,500 square metres of office space is already pre-committed in projects that are underway and Site18 within the Orams Marine Village will add some 3,320 square metres of prime, A-grade office space to that pipeline.”

This commercial project, based around sustainability principles, will see quality ground floor retail fronting Beaumont Street with marine trade behind and high-spec loft style office space on upper levels across two buildings, with Madden Lane running between them.

Thorburn says the larger of the two buildings will have a large ground floor café with glazed frontage to Madden and Beaumont Streets, along with an integrated entry lobby and lounge area with a soaring 5.1-metre ceiling height.

“There will be provision for some of this area to be utilised as ‘touch-down’ space for relaxation, agile working and meetings,” he says.

“End-of-trip facilities for the office tenancies will be located on a mezzanine level accessed by lift and stairs and on Level 1, there will be carparking plus bike racks with electric vehicle and cycle charging capacity.”

Levels 2 and 3 of this building comprise approximately 2,120 square metres of office space. Level 2 has a 3.75-metre (slab to slab) ceiling height and Level 3 has high-stud barn-like apex ceilings. Both have exposed services (if desired) and full-height glazing at each end giving view shafts out across Westhaven Marina and towards the CBD.

Spaces can be configured to suit tenant requirements and for larger businesses wishing to extend across both floor plates, interconnecting stairs will be an option.

Graves and Thorburn say with project completion expected mid-2021 – after the conclusion of the next America’s Cup challenge – businesses considering new office premises would be prudent to enquire now and use the intervening 18 months or so to consider a structured move.

Neven Barbour, chief executive officer for Orams Marine, says work is underway on its new marine-related maintenance and refit facilities water-side, including a new state-of-the-art superyacht refit facility which will treble their business capacity.

He says the design and schematic plans for the expanded Orams Marine Village have a strong identity and he’s looking forward to seeing a wide range of commercial tenants coming together to be part of the new hub.

“In 10 years’ time, people will look at the Wynyard Quarter with its three frontages to Waitemata Harbour and its best-practice urban design and marvel at what has been achieved on this previously underutilised land,” he says.

“Orams has been based here for around 30 years and I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where you can moor a superyacht at a world-class service facility and be within an easy 10-minute stroll to the centre of the country’s largest city.

“We’re proud to be a key part of the continued regeneration of the Wynyard Quarter and in bringing this new mixed-use commercial development to the leasing market, savvy companies will also be able to experience the real vitality and business advantages that the precinct offers.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media