Business occupiers promised a Rose Garden

The Rose Gardens Apartments and retail complex under construction on Don McKinnon Drive overlooking the Albany Lake Reserve. Photo / Supplied

Retailers and other business occupants are being sought for 23 ground floor commercial units in the nearly completed first stage of probably the largest apartment project under construction in New Zealand.

The units range in size from 37sq m to 120sq m with some having mezzanine floors; and are part of the Rose Gardens Apartments complex on Don McKinnon Drive overlooking the Albany Lake Reserve. A total of 800 apartments are planned for the 2ha site with the first stage comprising six buildings that will be progressively completed towards the end of this year and early 2018.

The first stage encompasses a total of 201 one-to-four-bedroom apartments which have been sold off the plans to a mix of owner occupiers and investors. The developer NZ Rose Garden Development Ltd has appointed Bayleys North Shore Commercial as sole agents for the marketing, leasing and selling of the ground level commercial units located around the development.

Eddie Zhong, who is managing the project for Bayleys in conjunction with Adam Curtis, says a mix of retail, service and office occupants are being sought for the commercial space. Two of the units which incorporate mezzanines also offer work and live options.

Expressions of interest are being sought from interested parties. "We will be mostly focusing on securing good quality tenants in the first instance, but the developer has indicated owner occupiers will be considered with a strong brand profile that can add value to the development," says Zhong. "We have already identified some key tenants to be approached. The developer wants to ensure there is a complementary mix of occupants, brand profiles and lease structures and that Rose Gardens has a point of difference from nearby Westfield Mall and the Albany Mega Centre.

"These new commercial units offer a huge opportunity to service the substantial community that will live at Rose Gardens as well as people coming to Albany's rapidly developing commercial centre to shop and work."

Zhong says occupants could include:

• food and beverage businesses;
• convenience retailers;
• healthcare practices; and
• service businesses like smaller professional practices.

The developer will also look at combining multiple units to suit "the right larger occupant" such as a gymnasium or leisure or entertainment facility. Assistance can also be provided with fit-out of units, if required.

Zhong says a major attraction for Rose Gardens' residential and commercial occupants is its central location near many amenities like the Westfield and Mega Centre shopping centres, the Events Cinema complex, Albany Stadium, the recently opened Albany Stadium Pool centre and Massey University. Albany's park-and-ride bus station is also just a few minutes' walk away.

"Another big attraction is the extensive landscaping that is being incorporated into the development as well as its superb positioning adjoining the expansive Albany Lake Reserve with a number of the commercial units having great views out to the water," says Zhong.

"Occupiers will have the double benefit of being next to a beautifully landscaped, tranquil reserve, while being close to a wide range of facilities with the Westfield Mall, for instance, being a short walk away through the reserve, across the lake bridge."

Around 300 people have been working on the first stage of the Rose Gardens development designed by Context Architects with CPM Construction being the principal contractor. The project incorporates two levels of basement car parking with a podium level over the top for the six separate apartment buildings.

The buildings surround a raised courtyard area that provides a sheltered central green space for residents. A 250sq m long shared-space street will house many of the food and beverage and retail convenience tenancies with floor-to-ceiling glazing maximising their exposure to passing vehicles and pedestrians.

Damian Stephen, manager of Bayleys North Shore Commercial's specialist retail team, says the Rose Gardens commercial premises is coming on the market at a time when there is little new retail space available in Albany.

"We went through a bit of a burst of new convenience retail development a few years ago but most of this space has now been soaked up so these new units are timely, given a continuing strong demand for retail premises in Albany," Stephen says.

The 'Sold Out' sign has gone up on two of the larger new recent retail redevelopments, marketed by Bayleys North Shore Commercial's retail team.

On the other side of Westfield Albany, all 30 units in two retail developments at Orchard Park, on Corinthian Drive, have been leased and or sold. There's been similar success for the Rosedale Retail Centre in the Interplex Business Park where all 37 units have also been snapped up.

Damian Stephen, Bayleys North Shore Commercial