Precinct Properties commits to new $90m building on Bowen Campus after securing tenants
Thursday, 4 June 2020
Big property owner Precinct Properties will shortly start the construction of a new $90.2 million earthquake-resilient building at Bowen Campus, near Parliament, in Wellington.
Precinct, listed on the New Zealand sharemarket, announced the decision to start development after securing tenants for about three quarters of the lettable space. They include big accounting company EY and huge Japanese multinational Fujitsu.
The new building will be situated at 40 Bowen St and will be the first of a pair of buildings planned for the site. It will total 10,049 square metres and consist of 1200–1700 sqm of office floor plates across six levels.
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*Two new earthquake-resilient buildings costing $160 million announced for Wellington
*Construction underway on Bowen Campus near Parliament
*Revamped Charles Fergusson Tower new home for Ministry of Primary Industries
Completion of the project is scheduled for late 2022.
The two new buildings will be stage 2 of the Bowen Campus development by Precinct.
Eighteen months ago Precinct announced it would develop two new buildings on the site at a cost of $160m and has been seeking pre-commitments to leasing space before starting the first building.
The new building will be built to 100 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS) and is the second project in Wellington to include the latest in seismic technology. Known as fluid viscous dampers, this technology acts to dissipate seismic energy and prevent the buildings from accumulating damage over multiple earthquakes.
Precinct chief executive Scott Pritchard said there was demand for prime office space in Wellington to support the development.
'Being able to advance one of the two new office buildings at Bowen Campus is a great result amidst the challenging environment we have been presented with over the last few months.
'We believe the prime office market in Wellington remains strong and well positioned locally. Having secured quality occupiers as pre-commitments reinforces the demand for quality office space in the Wellington city centre.'
Discussions were underway with potential occupiers for the balance of space available. Precinct expected the remaining 2,700 sqm to be fully leased before the project’s completion.
“While we recognise the uncertainty which remains within the New Zealand economy, Precinct’s well located buildings, high quality client base, high occupancy and long weighted average lease term gives us confidence that our strategy will continue to deliver in more challenging times,” Pritchard said.
EY and Fujitsu are leasing a combined 4,093 sqm of office space on a weighted average lease term (WALT) of 9 years.
Precinct owns co-working and shared office company Generator. It will have space on the ground and first floors, offering a meeting suite and private offices accommodating about 300 desks. EY has committed to a portion of the Generator private office desks.
Pre-committed leasing represents 72 per cent of the building’s office lettable area by income, Precinct said.
'Following the Kaikoura earthquake which affected so many, we know it's imperative to provide Wellingtonians with a high level of safety and confidence around the buildings they work in and ensure business continuity in the case of future seismic events, ' Pritchard said.
Bowen Campus Stage One was completed late last year. It involved the redevelopment of two large existing buildings, Charles Fergusson Tower and the Bowen State Building.
Charles Fergusson Tower was completed at the end of 2018 and is occupied by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Bowen State Building, renamed Defence House, is occupied by the New Zealand Defence Force who moved in a few months ago. The building covers 23,200sqm and the defence force have a lease until 2037.