Brewer says the facility is suitable for a single industrial user, and has features that are in high demand from industrial tenants, such as the separate car and truck site access, a large yard, warehouse canopies facing away from the prevailing south-westerly winds and office alignment to the operational areas.
"It has been designed to permit expansion of the warehouse space by a further 1000sq m, along with the ability also to increase the office footprint should a tenant want."
Brewer says the development will be completed by mid-September, and will be suitable for businesses such as a freight and logistics company, freight forwarder, wholesale trader, import/exporter, or a manufacturing and assembly firm.
Soroka says the Flex development at Percival Gull Place has been designed to offer a high level of flexibility, with the option of carving up the warehouse by constructing internal "speedwalls" to meet the different needs of industrial users requiring smaller quality premises.
Within the 8806sq m complex, warehouse sizes of 701sq m, 1188sq m, 1402sq m, 1889sq m or 2804sq m are all possible. The facility also has 822sq m of office space, a 1520sq m canopy and 57 car parks.
"The speedwalls can be put up very easily and with two-way fire-resistant properties, are safe and cost-effective," Soroka says.
"The speedwalls are also 100 per cent reusable, which means they can be reconfigured if the tenants' space and operation needs change."
Design elements of the Flex development include a 6m full drive- around access and ample yard areas for devanning containers. The wide canopy gives a covered area for trucks loading and unloading into the warehouse space.
"We see the facility being occupied by multiple users from freight and logistics, freight forwarding, wholesale trade, or manufacturing and assembly," Soroka says.
CBRE's latest South Auckland industrial market research shows demand for space is increasing, with considerable growth occurring in the main industrial precincts of the airport corridor, East Tamaki, Manukau/Wiri, Mangere and Penrose.
"Our most recent research has found that prime industrial rents in the area have been comparatively unaffected by the property downturn, and are at $106 per square metre a year, which is only 7 per cent below their peak value," Soroka says.
Auckland Airport's property development manager, Sean Leonard, says flexible design that is targeted to the needs of users is at the core of the airport's development plan.
"A development strategy has been developed as a result of low vacancy for prime industrial space, high occupancy within our portfolio, relatively low levels of construction activity and specific market segments that have either very low levels of vacancy or are poorly serviced.
"At Landing Drive we are bringing a quality development to the market that addresses the fundamentals for the end user - high-stud industrial space with good operational areas, a large canopy and an office overlooking the yard areas."
