Waterfront treasure with a nautical air

139 Quay St has been recently refurbished with a new office floor added, taking the building to nine levels. Photo / Supplied

One of Auckland's high-profile waterfront CBD office buildings at 139 Quay St which won a New Zealand Institute of Architects award for its nautical design is offered for sale by St Laurence Properties (Auckland).

Designed by well-known Auckland architects Brian Dodd and Geoffrey Newman and built in 1984, the distinctive building housed the commercial operations of Ports of Auckland for many years. In 1999, a retail frontage to Quay St was added and new commercial office floor plates were inserted on Levels 2 and 3.

It is now being marketed for sale by private treaty through Colliers' national sales director, Peter Herdson, and international sales director John Goddard, with a closing date of Wednesday, November 25.

St Laurence bought the building in 2004, adding value recently by substantially refurbishing several upper floors, the lobby and lifts to an international standard. As part of the refurbishment, St Laurence added a new office floor at the top, providing an extra 1200sq m of lettable space and taking the building to nine levels, with eight occupied by office activities.

The construction of the new eighth level followed the existing architectural form by stepping out the floor plates as the building rises from the street. New commercial double glazing to levels 7 and 8 provides shade, reduces thermal loading and follows the existing building's shape. The top floor is capped by a new roof with a metallic and contemporary "knife edge" aluminium eave. Under this is a new eighth-floor balcony that surrounds the entire floor, commanding uninterrupted views over the Waitemata Harbour.

Both the new and refurbished commercial office floors have high-quality fitouts and incorporate a number of Green Star initiatives.

"In addition to its great location and large floor plates, the building contains a combination of modern sustainable design and services that will position it well for the future," Herdson says.

Since the refurbishment, which was completed in September 2009, the building has 10,224sq m of net lettable area on a 3270sq m leasehold site with a rent-free ground lease expiring in 2095. Of the available space, 8567sq m is office area, 1273sq m is ground-floor retail and 384sq m is deck space.

Offering a net passing income of $3,577,069, with a weighted average lease term of 6.9 years, the building is almost completely leased. It is anchored by ING (NZ), occupying floors 5-8 inclusive with the lease commencing in January 2010 for an initial term of nine years.

Other tenants include boutique merchant bank DBB Capital, MKM Consulting and the New Zealand distributor of Apple products, Renaissance.

The building is also home to multi-national shipping and logistics conglomerate Cosco, specialist health recruitment company Geneva Health and asset manager AMAL.

Level 1 on the ground floor is tenanted to a mix of retail shops, bars, and restaurants including fashion designer Trelise Cooper, the Mexicali Restaurant, Provedor Bar, a Fix 24 convenience store and a visitor information centre.

"The building is almost completely let with a wide range of tenants providing a strong lease profile and excellent risk spread," Herdson says.

"Over the next few years, attention on the area will increase due to the redevelopment of neighbouring Queens Wharf, which will be one of the country's biggest projects in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup 2011, and the ongoing opening up of Auckland's waterfront."

Goddard notes that the area is also well known for the wide range of waterfront eateries, cafes and bars and that the building is close to Auckland's top retail precinct on Queen St.

"It is within walking distance of the Downtown retail precinct, lower Queen St, bus and ferry terminals and forms the eastern gateway to the Viaduct Harbour," Goddard says.

It is also close to Auckland's rail and bus network hub at Britomart.

"Public transport is increasingly viewed as a critical factor by landlords looking to make long-term location decisions. As the rail network improves and the Government places further emphasis on infrastructure development, offices close to public transport have become an attractive option both from an employee's perspective and for management."

Additionally, access to Auckland's major highways, including access to the SH1 and SH16 motorways, is only minutes from the building.

"St Laurence is selling the building as part of its planned add-value-sell strategy for the property, which is positioned both front and centre in Auckland's downtown business and retail precinct," Herdson says.

"I would say this is the best-presented waterfront property in Auckland's CBD, due to its combination of location, floor plates, recent refurbishment and a good mix of quality tenants on strong weighted average lease terms."