KEY POINTS:
Telecom will move more than 2500 staff into a purpose-built Auckland head office from 2011.
A four-building campus with 30,000 sq m of floor space will be built on the Victoria Street site occupied by New Zealand Post's distribution centre.
Property developers Manson TCLM will begin work demolishing the existing buildings next May when New Zealand Post have completed a move to its purpose-built mail-handling depot at Highbrook business park in East Tamaki.
Telecom flagged the move to an Auckland HQ from its previous base in Wellington when chief executive Paul Reynolds' appointment was announced.
However, Reynolds said the shift to a single Auckland site did not mean the closure of its Wellington office, but would bring together its fragmented Auckland workforce.
He said the situation of staff spread over a number of buildings around Auckland was not conducive to team work. "I'm really big on this whole idea of teamwork across Telecom, working as a great team to serve our customers," said Reynolds.
Telecom plans to locate its corporate, retail, wholesale and Gen-i teams at the Victoria St site.
Staff from Telecom's new network services division will not be housed on the same site under the Government-imposed operational separation of the company.
Reynolds said the modern, open-plan layout of the new building will have a big impact on how people work together.
He admitted to not having had a direct input into the design, joining the company at the end of September when plans were being finalised.
"But in the past I've taken this stuff pretty seriously and it's a big part of building teams," he said.
Reynolds said he will aim to have open doors, open spaces and communal areas as part of the design.
Although design work on his own office has not begun, Reynolds said he will be eschewing oak panelled, key-pad secure lodgings in favour of an office with no door.
The campus will consist of four separate buildings, the tallest of which will be eight stories, connected by walkways with a common area in the middle.
Culum Manson of property developers Manson TCLM said taking an organisation and spreading it over a low-rise campus style development with a large floorplate creates greater interactivity between employees than a high-rise design.
Manson TCLM own the 7929sq m freehold site, purchased from New Zealand Post late last year.
Manson said the design was site specific and the company is collaborating with Telecom to "tweak" the design for its needs.
The completed buildings will have a five-star "green" rating which Manson said would include a chilled beam air conditioning system, energy efficient solar reflecting glass and water recycling.
He said when the building work was complete the end value would be in excess of $200 million.
Telecom will lease the buildings from Manson TCLM for 12 years.
COMPANY TREND FOR ALL UNDER SAME ROOF
Telecom's move to a single location reflects a trend among companies to bring staff together on one site.
In 2004, Fonterra moved 600 staff into the former KPMG centre in Princes St, having previously had staff split between Pastoral House in Wellington and several Auckland sites, including a property at Auckland Airport.
Chief executive Andrew Ferrier said at the time of the announcement that bringing staff together under one roof was an important step in developing a strong culture at Fonterra.
The dairy giant was formed in 2001 out of the merger of the Dairy Board, New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Dairies.
The same year as the Fonterra move, Air New Zealand signed a deal to relocate from its 25-level Quay Tower headquarters and three other Auckland sites to a new building in Westhaven.
Air New Zealand signed an 11-year lease for the $60 million development of two connected six-level buildings.
Former chief executive Ralph Norris said the decision to move to a new building suited a number of objectives, including the high-profile location visible from the Victoria Park motorway viaduct assisting marketing and branding.
COME TOGETHER
Now:
* Multiple sites and leases around Auckland including a Hereford St office block, Zespri House, Westhaven and Gen-i centre on Wyndham Street.
* Lease still to run on former headquarters at Telecom House in Wellington.
Future:
* Four-building campus on Victoria St with 30,000 sq m of office space.
* Planned for site occupied by NZ Post distribution centre, which will move to Highbrook in East Tamaki.
* New HQ will accommodate more than 2,500 Telecom staff - including Telecom's corporate, retail, wholesale and Gen-i teams.
* Work begins in May 2008, staff start moving in 2011.
* Tallest building will be 8 stories high.
* 12-year lease from property developers Manson TCLM.
* Property will be valued in excess of $200 million when completed.
