$40M complex near completion

The regeneration of Tauranga's central business district continues to gather momentum – with the new six storey commercial and retail complex, on the corner of Cameron Road and Third Avenue now taking shape.

Construction work is up to the top floor.


Half the floor space at Tauranga's newest and most energy efficient office complex currently being leased has been snapped up – even before construction on the building has been completed.

The new $40 million Cameron Road/3rd Ave building will have almost 7800 net square metres of floor space and retail outlets, with the capacity to house some 600 office workers.

As well as an outdoor space and café at ground level, there is an additional 2453 square metes of basement car parking which will accommodate 105 vehicles.

Demolition of the old commercial buildings previously on the site was completed in the middle of last year and construction of the new building began in October – with a scheduled completion date at the end of 2016.

The development is being jointly undertaken by existing Tauranga-based landholder Manor Group TGA, in conjunction with Auckland-based developer/investor Watts Group Investments. Sister company Watts and Hughes Construction is building the premises at 306 Cameron Road.

The development partnership was brokered by Russell Adams of Bayleys Auckland and Lloyd Davidson of Bayleys Tauranga.

Levels two and three of the Cameron Road/3rd Ave building will offer a new concept to the city's commercial leasing market.

Lloyd says this concept was targeted to the smaller professional and creative companies of Tauranga, along with new businesses coming to the city.

'Typically these businesses have 10-30 staff and have found it difficult to secure international-quality space at competitive leasing rates.

'The Cameron Road/3rd Ave concept uses the international office trend of shared space - in a way where the tenancies share the front of house areas such as meeting rooms, seminar rooms and break out spaces for staff.

'The principal is about removing the costs of the minimally-used spaces such as meeting rooms and staff break out spaces for lunch and casual meetings which all tenants usually pay for at full lease rates, within their own tenancy.

'This concept enables tenants to reduce their office footprint to the bare minimum therefore their net lease costs are lower and they pay only a portion of the leasing costs for the less-used facilities, rather than the full cost,” says Lloyd.

'There is no need to have six lunch rooms or 12 meeting rooms on one floor for six tenants for example. Those spaces are taken care of in the shared area. This practice significantly reduces their per square metre tenancy rate but at the same time increasing the access to more space.

'The shared space concept provides networking opportunities between the employees of complimentary professional service companies.”

Lloyd says the shared space concept provided the opportunity for each tenancy to have large client functions within the 300 square metres of communal space - something not normally provided for in a small to medium size space with a traditional fitout.

The level three floor plate of the Cameron Road/3rd Ave premises has been conceptually subdivided into six separate tenancies – ranging in size from 100 – 410 square metres with the shared street concept nearly 300 square metre floor space. The flexibility of office configurations allows the full range of tenants and office sizes to be accommodated on one floor.

Level two has potentially four tenancies ranging in size from 138 – 215 square metres, as part of a total floor plan of 1778 square metres.

One and a half floors – some 3014 square metres in total – have already been leased to a Government department under a confidentiality agreement. Manor Group was a previous tenant in the old building on the site, and will be moving back to the new premises on completion.

Leasing of the remaining space is being undertaken by Bayleys Tauranga. Leasing specialist Lloyd says naming rights for the building were still available to tenants looking to rent either or both of the upper two floors.

He says per square metre rates for the floor space would vary depending on tenancy size and terms of the lease.

'However, being a new build, state-of-the-art premises, able to be bespoke configured to a range of new tenants with its shared space concept it will be very competitive in the Tauranga leasing market, as you would expect.”

Bayleys Tauranga is also leasing the retail spaces at street level – ranging in size from 79 square metres to 244 square metres.

Lloyd says negotiations with a cafe operator were well advanced.

'Facing directly onto Tauranga's busiest arterial road is a definite benefit for potential retail tenants – particularly as Cameron Road links the CBD to outlying suburbs.

Other major corporate entities in the nearby vicinity include ANZ, accountancy firms KPMG and Staples Rodway, solicitors Cooney Lees and Sharp Tudhope, Aurecon Engineering, and the headquarters of Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Retailers within a 500 metre walking distance include a chemist, multiple cafes, home appliance stores Noel Leeming and Farmers, and two gymnasiums.

A Tauranga CBD commercial office report released earlier this year highlighted the growing divergence between the vacancy rates in ‘prime' and ‘secondary' quality buildings occurring in the heart of the city.

'There are very tight conditions prevailing for better grades of space - compared to rising vacancies amongst secondary properties,” says the report, undertaken independently by Bayleys Research.

'This is prompting an increase in development activity to satisfy demand for better quality premises.

'The building has been designed with floor-to-ceiling windows facing to the north, east, south and west to maximise the available natural light.”

Lloyd says additional car parking for staff working in the building would be available some 200 metres away.

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9 comments

Parking

Posted on 22-06-2016 09:02 | By The Sage

Would that additional parking that Lloyd says would be available for staff be the Elizabeth Street parking building? If so, good luck with that as it is already well over prescribed since Trustpower came to town. If this is not what Lloyd is referring to, perhaps he would be good enough to make public where these magical parks will be located.


Car Parks

Posted on 22-06-2016 10:00 | By Accountable

One car park to be shared by six people.Another developer relying on the ratepayer to pay for their parking.As mentioned where are these other 200 car parks located?


Overit

Posted on 22-06-2016 10:16 | By overit

What a nice place for the Council to be!


Hmmmm

Posted on 22-06-2016 10:19 | By How about this view!

Very interesting to note that this building is costing $40 Million and has the included the demolition of existing buildings and extensive excavations to allow for below ground facilities and yet we are being softened up to expect to pay an ESTIMATED $70 Million for our seat warmers. Why the nearly doubling in costs I wonder?


How about this view!

Posted on 22-06-2016 11:54 | By groutby

Very good point you raise...could be quite a saving to be made if TCC are able to "shop around" for a reasonable, fair and importantly ACCURATE price..


Parking!

Posted on 22-06-2016 14:01 | By DAD

The Avenues are already overflowing because Parking Buildings are overflowing! I cant believe that so little Parking provided by developer has been allowed!


A council bargain!

Posted on 22-06-2016 14:37 | By The author of this comment has been removed.

We are not taxed to know who is moving into this new building. Perhaps TCC could fill in the blank spaces left vacant?


Sorry to say

Posted on 22-06-2016 15:44 | By Bop man

But if the artist impression is anything to go by that is one ugly building.....


Bop man.......

Posted on 22-06-2016 22:31 | By groutby

.well maybe it is, but if we consider that a new TCC building probably shouldn't be necessary at all if everyone did their job right in the first place, then the "seat warmers" should be more than happy with this type of construction, either at The Lakes or Baypark where there would be plenty of parking, and free up the City Centre for retail and tourist activity..


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