Slider Building progressing in a league of its own

An artist's impression of the four-level Slider Building at 8 Stanley St. Photo / Supplied

Following the successful completion of the first phase of the Carlaw Business Park, the second phase is now under way with the construction of a new four-star Green Building Council-rated building, to be called the Slider Building, which is scheduled for completion early in 2010.

Claimed to be "the only major office development announced in 2009 with part tenant pre-commitment", the 6700sq m, four-level Slider Building at 8 Stanley St will have a value in excess of $38 million.

The anchor tenant will be the National Libraries, which is taking 2100sq m of space on the ground and first floors of the building.

Tenants are now being sought for 4200sq m of available space on the second and third levels and for a corner 400sq m ground-floor office or showroom area facing Stanley St and the business park's access road.

This part of the Carlaw Park and Stanley St site was most recently occupied by the Mico Bathrooms building, which closed down following the sale of the property in late 2008.

"The Slider Building will be the new face of Carlaw Park when completed," says Paul Dyson of Colliers International who is pre-leasing space within the new building with colleague Rob Bird.

"Not only will it have significant prominence in the area, but it will offer immediate access to the Southern, Northern and Northwestern Motorways, and will present a high profile to around 40,000 cars passing one of Auckland's busiest junctions every day. In this regard, signage rights are still available for the Stanley St and Beach Rd frontages."

Features in the environmentally sustainable structure will be large and efficient floor plates, controlled lighting systems and air-conditioning, full-height acoustic glass for maximum natural light and excellent energy savings.

Dyson says that the available space should satisfy the requirements of any high-demand occupier.

"What we have here is 4600sq m of the latest A-grade office space on two floors with 2.7m stud heights. The space is ideal for larger users looking to fill 2000 to 4000sq m in the latest sustainable design environment.

"We expect the location and amenities that already exist as part of Carlaw Park will attract a forward-thinking company looking for space now and room for growth in a high-quality and long-term home."

The building will form an integral part of the master plan for the 2ha Carlaw Business Park and will providing pedestrians and vehicles with entry points into the already established areas of the park.

The first stage of the park was completed in early 2009, adding 11,000sq m of A-grade accommodation to the Parnell precinct. Datacraft, Nestle, Sinclair Knight Merz and the Department of Conservation have all moved into new premises in the low-density precinct. DoC, in particular, was attracted by the green star rating and signed a nine-year lease agreement for 925sq m within the business park.

Greg Reidy, a director of McDougall Reidy & Co, says that the low density and open spaces of Carlaw Business Park have also attracted tenants who especially enjoy the plaza where events and functions have been held.

Among the amenities that are up and running in the park are a convenience store, a new Sushi Tomi Japanese restaurant, a Lollipops daycare centre and the Carlaw Park Cafe, which relocated specifically to follow Sinclair Knight Merz.

"They liked their cafe operator in their previous Newmarket location so much that they convinced them to open another cafe when they moved here," says Reidy.

Also open for business on the integrated campus is the Quest hotel with 42 apartments and a Wilson carpark providing 690 parking spaces.

"This has been a very personal journey for the last seven years," says Reidy. "We have taken a long-term approach, which has enabled us to be one of the few developments that have moved on to a new stage this year."

Reidy says the decision to proceed with the second phase of Carlaw Park in a low-development environment came as a progression from the success of the first phase completed last year.

"As we ran out of large space in Stage 1, the demand was still there, which has enabled us to commence construction of Stage 2 this year."

The overall master plan for the precinct is a one-stop shop, providing amenities for neighbouring buildings and districts with Carlaw Park becoming a major city "hinge" - linking the Domain, Parnell and Stanley St through to the legal and financial districts of the CBD.

"Carlaw Park is turning into the catalyst for major urban renewal in the area," says Reidy.

"We are only a few minutes' walk away from the neighbouring Auckland Domain and the shops, restaurants and galleries of Parnell, which are well placed for a nearby off-site lunch or dinner with clients."

According to Colliers' research director Alan McMahon, there is still demand for office space in Parnell, as evidenced by recent leasing activity in the recently refurbished The Rise on Parnell at 86 Parnell Rd.

"However, although A-grade space is still in demand, vacancy rates across most metropolitan office precincts recorded a moderate rise over the past six months, reflecting a softening leasing market across all grades of space."

This trend is recognised by Reidy. "We are aware that this is a changing market," he says, "However, when tenants are reviewing options they may find that quality options are still relatively limited."