Australian fund buys Q&V tower for $33m

Noel Robinson will keep the prize-winning Loft at the top of the Q&V building.

Auckland investor Noel Robinson has sold his 15-level Q&V office tower on Queen St to Australian fund MFL for around $33 million.

But he has kept his prize-winning Loft office at the top of the building.

Robinson and two investors have embarked on a $500 million project to create an industrial subdivision at Paraparaumu Airport on the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington.

Robinson, chairman and managing director of the $1 billion Highbrook Business Park project, is also leading the country's largest industrial subdivision push at East Tamaki in a project with Macquarie Goodman property group.

Robinson said he was sad to have sold the Q&V Building, which was not on the market, but he got an offer he could not refuse.

In March 2002, Robinson's Masai Nominees paid $8.5 million for the office block opposite Whitcoulls on the corner of Auckland's Queen St and Victoria St from ANZ Banking Group.

Robinson then embarked on one of the city's most extensive and praised refurbishment campaigns, pouring millions of dollars into the tower.

John Cameron of consultants Jones Lang LaSalle acted as adviser in putting the refurbishment up for tender, which was won by Jasmax director Tim Hooson and senior interior designer Paul van Lent.

The Loft, an office at the top of the building, won a New Zealand Institute of Architect branch award in 2005. An old roof plant was replaced with the top-level addition which has an exterior reflecting pool.

In making the award, the institute praised the way Jasmax had utilised an underused rooftop location. The caretaker's apartment was rebuilt and extended to provide a series of interior spaces and outdoor terraces.

"The split levels within the space divide the interior into a series of zones to loosely define relaxing and meeting areas. The selection of neutral materials and execution of details enhances the overall concept," the institute said.

Robinson's refurbishment resulted in a comprehensive upgrade of the entire building to transform it into an A-grade office block. He had a top-of-the range air conditioning system and the latest information technology installed, including new electrical and data ducting and a top security system.

New ceiling grids with acoustic tiles were installed. Three lifts were upgraded. New carpet was laid on all floors, and a fresh sprinkler system, lighting and low-glare diffusers were fitted.

But Robinson said the key to the building was bringing art into the office areas.

The Longest Day, an 8m sculpture by Anton Parsons, was installed in the lobby entrance off Queen St and Italian marble bathrooms with showers built on each floor.

Jasmax said the foremost design response was to preserve the integrity of the building and respect for its age.

Simple materials, such as timber and limestone, were chosen and the detailing celebrated joinery and craft, applied with a clean modern aesthetic.

The entrance from street level was via an uninviting tunnel. Robinson's brief was to transform this into an offering to the market that would match recent CBD buildings in quality and services.

Robinson is the founder and former managing director of Robinson Industries and is also chairman of a number of South Auckland community groups. His uncle, Woolf Fisher, was one of the founders of the Fisher and Paykel dynasty.

In June, Noel Robinson was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order.

He is the major shareholder in Paraparaumu Airport Holdings. He joined accountant Steve Bootten and property investment manager Tom Hoare to buy the 131ha airport in the winter for well under $40 million.


NOEL ROBINSON'S TWO BIGGEST PROJECTS

The $1 billion Highbrook Business Park in Auckland

* A 153ha project with Australia's Macquarie Goodman Group.

* Tenants include Fisher & Paykel, Exel, McPhersons and NZ Post.

* Will have 40ha of parks and walkways, plus esplanades and sportsfields.

* Commercial land area of 107ha under development off Southern Motorway.

$500 million Paraparaumu Airport industrial business park

* Working with partners Steve Bootten and Tom Hoare.

* Consultation, resource consent applications and private plan changes expected to take up to three years.

* Design concepts to come from world renowned landscape architect Professor Peter Walker who designed Highbrook.

* Runway to be extended for bigger aircraft and initial $100 million infrastructure spend planned.