ANZ commits to Sylvia Park 'town centre'

An artist's impression of No 1 Sylvia Park which is now under construction. Photo / Supplied

ANZ Bank New Zealand, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Arawata Assets Limited, has agreed to lease about 6740 sqm of space at Kiwi Property's No.1 Sylvia Park office development now under construction in Mt Wellington, Auckland.

The bank will take a nine-year lease over five whole floors and a partial floor with the move-in commencing in two stages between June and December 2019 in order to suit the progressive relocation of bank staff into the building from a number of locations. ANZ has also secured exclusive naming and signage rights.

Chris Gudgeon, Kiwi Property's chief executive, says the company's vision for Sylvia Park is the creation of a world-class town centre, offering exceptional retail, dining, entertainment and workplace experiences.

"ANZ taking this significant space in No.1 Sylvia Park reflects this transition to a town centre. Our ability to successfully lease over 10,000 sqm of office space in the building to major corporates such as ANZ and IAG shows that the market is looking for such an offering. Our vision is now becoming reality."

Gudgeon says the new office building has been designed to integrate seamlessly with Sylvia Park and The Grove Dining District, which opened in December 2017.

"With a dedicated entrance, it offers businesses a high-quality working environment in an easily accessible location with excellent rail and bus transport links, allowing staff to take advantage of an extensive range of amenities and services at the centre."

Mike Bullock, ANZ's chief operating officer, says the company is looking forward to moving many of its contact centre functions in Auckland into the building at No.1 Sylvia Park from around the middle of next year.

"No.1 Sylvia Park is state-of-the-art and has strong public transport links and retail, food and recreational facilities around it that are important for attracting and retaining staff," Bullock says.

Gudgeon says ANZ and IAG, together with the ground floor retailers, will occupy around 90 per cent of the office building. "Following ANZ's full occupation in 2019, the project is expected to yield 7.4 per cent, with a projected 10-year internal rate of return [IRR] in excess of 9 per cent.

"We look forward to welcoming ANZ to the building, joining around 350 IAG staff who will move into their new 3324 sqm office premises following completion of No.1 Sylvia Park in the middle of this year."

"By year end, we will complete our new 600 space shopper carpark building and, in mid-2020, we will finish our $223 million Galleria retail expansion project. This will take Sylvia Park to another level, featuring new international brands and concept stores, selected retailers from Sylvia Park's waiting list of specialty tenants, a two-storey Farmers department store and a sophisticated new-generation, sophisticated dining precinct," Gudgeon says.