David Johnston of Anglesea - new challenge post-Commercial Bay. Photo / Supplied
David Johnston of Anglesea - new challenge post-Commercial Bay. Photo / Supplied
David Johnston, $1 billion Commercial Bay ex-project director, bought consultancy Anglesey Associates. He examines how the pandemic affects developments, office design, boss' attitudes and how we work.
Q: What's the new business? A: Anglesey was operated by John Whitehead since 1990. He retired and I bought the brand, client book,support and advice with no guarantees clients will come over but his reputation and history is a great platform.
Q: How long were you at Precinct Properties? A: Four years: June 2016-June 2020.
What Commercial Bay taught him - like leading a small army. Photo / Supplied
A: I joined Precinct to deliver Commercial Bay: the first stage of the CRL tunnels, the retail centre and the new PwC Tower. I was project director, leading the development and the wider project teams.
Q: What did ComBay teach you? A: An enormous amount. I went into it with 60,000sq m of office development, two hotels, several residential developments, time in residential private development and several years managing an $800m commercial office portfolio. I thought I'd seen most things but it was a daily learning curve. A project of that scale and complexity requires a small army. Leadership and relationship building was critical. Every day introduced new challenges.
Q: What does Anglesey do? A: John Whitehead has worked with clients in insurance, legal, education, health and government, a pre-eminent tenancy advocate. I hope many of his clients will seek my expertise.
Q: You worked at Kiwi Property? A: 1999-2004 and 2008-2012 latterly as general manager commercial, leading the team managing the office portfolio, some $800m - Vero Centre, ASB North Wharf, National Bank Centre, Majestic Centre and others. We earthquake strengthened Wellington's Majestic Centre and redeveloped 56 and 44 The Terrace.
Q: Upbringing? A: Dad was a farm equipment engineer in Timaru with Cosgroves. I majored in operations research at Canterbury University - a mathematical means to management. I forgot most of it when I left. I worked in the marine industry for several years, being a keen sailor.
Q: How did you get into property? A: Through a sailing colleague in the late 1980s. I looked after his yacht, organised the racing schedule, then expressed an interest in property. He offered me a role on a project as a junior development manager. I owe him a lot.
Q Boyhood dream? A: To be a professional sailor. I tried hard. Property took over.
He delivered the $1b Commercial Bay (centre). Photo / Supplied
Q: How does the pandemic affect tenants? A: A significant impact on commercial property - once the initial concerned reaction passes, it will change working practices, not space consumed. Employers will let staff be more flexible. The smart ones will realise they must have people physically around them. I speak from experience. It is hard running via Zoom or Teams. Workplace configurations might become more focused on collaboration functions, not processing functions.
Q: Will new developments reduce? A: The large developments previously mooted are on hold for the foreseeable future while the market tries to work out how to react. Longer term, a change in work practices may catalyse new developments because older, more traditionally configured buildings may not cater for new working practices.
Q:How does the pandemic change how we work? A: We might see a move way from the extreme densities from the past few years. When I entered the market, densities of one person for 20- 25sq m were the norm. Pre-Covid we regularly saw tenants demanding that a building's spatial parameters and systems and services could support a population density of as low as 1 person per 8sq m. Employers will move away from these densities, particularly if they orientate fitouts towards spaces being more collaborative, team building, meeting-type spaces.
Q: Will building design change? A: The old rabbit hutch cellularised office design won't return. Floorplate design will become critical: more offset or disengaged core designs which tend to produce large efficient floorplates suiting today's working practices. Ventilation systems will come under the spotlight. More energy-efficient buildings will be required.
Q Should we worry about empty Queen St/Newmarket shops? A: It's just the market in action. Reduced foot traffic in Queen St is a reflection of reduced working population, not a ComBay impact. Out of the 111 ComBay retail tenants only a few came from downtown locations: RM Williams, Rodd & Gunn, Asics, etc.
Q: Will more shops be empty? A: The market will adapt. Queen St will remain a strong retail destination. Once all the roading and construction projects are completed, it will be an amazing destination. Lower Queen St and Quay St will be special public spaces. Public transport keeps getting better.
Q: If you're advocating for tenants, how do you get results? A: A range of factors, finding the best holistic solution, best balance and fit between location, building quality, ownership/management quality, systems and services quality, best spatial fit and commercial terms. It's also hugely important to find a balance between the landlord's commercial requirements and the tenant's requirements. It is essential to have an intimate understanding of both parties. I can provide that.
Q: What did working at listed businesses teach you? A: Managing a large portfolio at Kiwi rounded my experience. Till then I had been almost exclusively on the development/delivery side. To experience it from the other side and see the value that decisions during development make was huge. It stood me in good stead to lead the development of a project like ComBay where decision making was value-based, not cost-based.
