KEY POINTS:
A large Auckland CBD site containing three commercial buildings with frontage to three streets is up for sale.
The 1724sq m Swanson Towers site fronting Hobson, Swanson and Federal Sts is being marketed by Bayleys senior commercial broker Dominic Ong and will be sold by tender closing on April 3.
He says a site of this size rarely comes up for sale in the central city and, while there are three office towers on it, the property has considerable redevelopment potential.
The site's Strategic Management 1 zoning will allow a development with a basic floor area ratio of 6:1 and a maximum floor ratio of 13:1 which means a potential redevelopment of between 10,344sq m and 22,412sq m in gross floor area. The property's existing three buildings have a total net lettable area of 6266sq m.
Ong says that some time in the future, a new owner could build more offices or a combination of modern offices, apartments and retail space. He says it is an L-shaped site with multiple pedestrian accesses and vehicle access from Swanson St.
The three 1973-built towers are known as the 11-storey, 3274sq m Hobson Tower at 20 Hobson St, the seven-storey 2184sq m Federal Tower at 21 Federal St and the three-storey 808sq m Swanson Tower at 25 Federal St.
Ong says while the site is underdeveloped it has been used in a very effective manner, with all buildings connected at the ground level by a plaza and sharing a 38-space basement parking level. The plaza, which features concrete floor tiles and full-height glazing, provides access to the lifts and stairwells of the buildings.
Only one of the buildings on the site is fully leased - the three-level Swanson Tower - but the 11-level Hobson Tower has been extensively refurbished ready for a leasing campaign.
The existing buildings have a potential income when fully leased of around $1.4 million based on $200 per square metre on the premium upper levels and slightly less per square metre on lower floors.
"This is an opportunity for investors to increase the current return by leasing up the remainder of the floors while they form long-term development plans for the site. It also could be an opportunity for an owner- occupier to secure a slice of the CBD and benefit from income flow from the other buildings."
Ong says naming rights are available to a new tenant or an owner-occupier and the property is set in an excellent location, adjacent to the ANZ Tower in Albert St.
"It is only a short walk from Swanson Towers to the Viaduct Basin, Queen St and the CBD's transport hub at Britomart. The motorways are easily accessible via Fanshawe St for the Northern motorway, or Hobson St for the Southern and Western motorways."
