The makeover of 82 Wyndham St, Auckland will target Green Star and NABERSNZ ratings. Photo / Supplied
A three-level office building at 82 Wyndham St, Auckland, formerly occupied by IBM, is to undergo a major makeover before leasing to new tenants.
IBM NZ has relocated to the new Bayleys' head office building in the Wynyard Quarter leaving behind about 4230sq m of lettable office space in the Wyndham St building.
Following IBM's departure, owner NZX listed Argosy Property Ltd, is planning to complete a refurbishment of all the building's base services by the middle of next year, which will see the property upgraded to a minimum 4-Green Star built rating and also target a 4-Star NABERSNZ energy efficiency rating.
The property is featured in Bayleys' Workplace magazine, a new Bayleys' initiative to provide tenants with the latest information and opportunities available in the leasing market.
"The building was constructed in the late 1990s and has upper office floors of just over 1500sq m - one of the few pre-2000 buildings in the Auckland CBD with floor areas as large as these," says Brendan Graves, commercial leasing agent with Bayleys Auckland Central, who is handling the leasing of the Wyndham St property with colleague Andre Siegert.
The building has a ground floor area of 1078sq m; a Level 1 area of 1575sq m and a Level 2 area of 1579sq m, with a basement level for carparking.
"Following the refurbishment that Argosy will undertake, this building will provide very efficient, cost-effective space and an attractive working environment for tenants," says Graves. "Other features of the renovation will include a new foyer, upgraded lift cars and new bathrooms, and a freshly landscaped outdoor plaza area. The building also has 135 onsite car parks; an excellent ratio for a CBD location."
Graves says an increasing number of landlords are seeking Green Star and energy efficiency ratings in office building refurbishments with 82 Wyndham Street being the latest example.
New services in the building will include:
• An "end of trip" facility to encourage cycling to work with bike racks and showers provided. A shortage of available showers can be a major disincentive for bikers and the eight new showers in the basement of 82 Wyndham Street will be significantly above the norm for a building of its size.
•An increase in the building's fresh air supply so it can cater for a density of one person per eight square metres.
•A "smart" lighting system linked to automatic blinds.
•A window film which will provide the building's existing single glazed windows with the solar conservation equivalent of a six-millimetre thick double-glazed window.
•A Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air conditioning system with heat recovery. VRF units work only at the needed rate allowing for substantial energy savings in partial-load conditions. Heat recovery VRF technology allows individual indoor units to heat or cool as required.
•All the latest water saving and recovery services including metering to enable usage to be measured for NABERSNZ. (National Australian Built Environment Rating SystemNZ).
Saatyesh Bhana, Argosy's asset manager, says adding all these new sustainable green services will result in an energy efficient A-grade building that will provide great value for money for tenants.
"A 4-Green Star built rating is pretty good for an existing building given the constraints we are working with and this will be reviewed during the construction process. If we can, we will upgrade to a 5-Star built rating which is what we have done with other recent refurbishments projects, such as at Te Puni Kōkiri House and15 Stout St in Wellington."
Bhana says tenants often don't understand the difference between a 'design' and a 'built' Green rating. A high design rating is often used to assist with tenant commitment to long-term leases before the project commences.
"However, it doesn't necessarily mean the design plans for a building will be what is actually built," says Bhana. "Commitment to a built rating, which is independently verified by the New Zealand Green Building Council after project completion, gives potential occupants reassurance that what the landlord says will be built is what will be delivered."
He says NABERSNZ is a useful tool for an owner to understand how energy is used in a building and to be able to improve its performance. "By using this information, the property manager can focus on an energy-management strategy to make operational improvements and reduce energy consumption, which is what we will be doing at 82 Wyndham St.
"The recent Te Puni Kōkiri House upgrade to a 4.5 NABERSNZ energy rating resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in energy use, which saved the occupier $80,000 per year and also reduced their carbon footprint.
"This type of long-term investment in a property works out for everyone; it creates savings for our tenants, recycles older buildings whichhave a lower carbon footprint as the structure is reused, and adds value to our investments."
Siegert says the property is perfectly positioned with easy access to Wynyard Quarter, the Viaduct, Britomart precinct and Queen Street.
