Revamped Charles Fergusson Tower new home for Ministry of Primary Industries

Thursday, 31 January 2019

The Ministry of Primary Industries is moving into the redeveloped Charles Fergusson Tower in Bowen Campus near Parliament.

Hundreds of Ministry of Primary Industries staff are moving into the rebuilt Charles Fergusson Tower, part of the $203 million Bowen Campus redevelopment in Wellington.

It's the culmination of a major rebuild of the 1970s building named after Sir Charles Fergusson, Governor General of New Zealand from 1924 – 1930.

Ryan Carter, portfolio manager for Precinct Properties, the building's owner, said there had been strong interest in leasing and they were thrilled to welcome the Ministry for Primary Industries into their new offices.

An initial 400 staff started shifting on January 14 and 1158 MPI staff were expected to work there.

The redevelopment of the 1970s Charles Fergusson Tower took 26 months and involved the installation of a new glass wall façade, new services, including lifts, air conditioning and electrical systems.

*Construction underway on Bowen Campus near Parliament

*Two new earthquake-resilient buildings costing $160 million announced for Wellington**

The 15-storey building has been upgraded to 100 per cent of the National Building Standard (NBS).

MPI had leased the whole building with 13,750 square metres of office space. It has been located at Pastoral House on The Terrace, also owned by Precinct Properties.

The 26-month redevelopment involved the installation of a new glass wall façade, new services, including lifts, air conditioning and electrical systems.

The redevelopment of the Bowen State building is expected to be finished in the third quarter of 2019.

New carpets, lighting, ceilings, toilets, showers and bike parks are part of the refurbishment.

The 15-storey building had also been upgraded to 100 per cent of the National Building Standard (NBS).

'Effectively, the building has been completely redeveloped and the end result is a high-end office space equivalent to that of office space in leading international cities,' Carter said..

Alongside Charles Fergusson, Precinct Properties has also been redeveloping the Bowen State building, due for completion in the third quarter of 2019.

Similarly, Bowen State has a new facade, seismic strengthening to 100 per cent of the National Building Standard, new lifting systems and mechanical services and new modern base build fit out.

The architects for the two buildings' revamp is Warren and Mahoney and the construction company is L T McGuinness.

The second stage of the transformation is the construction of two new buildings close by, at 40 and 44 Bowen Street, at a cost of $160m.

Precinct Properties, which specialises in developing inner city commercial buildings, said it would take about 2.5 years to build them, adding 22,000sqm of office space to Wellington's very tight prime office market.

Carter said Precinct was seeking interest from the market to lease the planned new buildings.

Office space at Bowen State and Charles Fergusson was all leased, but retail space on the ground floor of Bowen State was available.

If you have a commercial property story to share, please email marta.steeman@stuff.co.nz