City office floor for lease in Wellington

Level 7 of Resimac House is above David Jones department store at 45 Johnston St, Wellington. Photo / Supplied

An entire office floor in a prime location above the David Jones department store, on the corner of Lambton Quay and Johnston St in Wellington, is available for lease.

The floor is already fitted out to provide tenants with a 'walk in' option, says Steve Maitland, leasing specialist with Colliers International, who is marketing Level 7 of Resimac House at 45 Johnston St to prospective tenants.

"For businesses looking to move, this 443sq m floor space has a clean, tidy and professional fit-out that is ready to go," Maitland says. "The new tenant will be able to move in and commence operating quickly with minimal business disruption."

He says 'ready-built' offices are rare in the current leasing market, where vacancy is now at a six-year low following the November 2016 earthquake.

"Options like this with existing fit-outs provide much needed relief for tenants needing new premises within a short amount of time. There is a lot of demand for this type of office space at the moment, with seismic assessments and repair work causing churn in the leasing market and severely reduced availability of vacant offices."

The floor includes a large open-plan office area, a boardroom with capacity for 10 to12 people, two smaller meeting rooms, kitchen, breakout room and utility area. On-site car parking is also available.

Maitland says Resimac House is part of a twin-tower development in a central position on Lambton Quay, with excellent natural light throughout the building. The 16-level building was constructed in 1989 and has a seismic rating of 100 per cent of new building standard.

He says flexibility with the lease arrangement is being offered, with a short term or a long-term lease both possible. "This space is perfect for a business needing an accommodative approach based around the length of time they occupy the property. This will be considered a big plus for tenants, as most other central-city options require tenants to commit to fixed lease terms."

The first Wellington post-earthquake office space vacancy survey, conducted by Colliers International in January 2017, showed that total office space in the capital had reduced by nearly 100,000sq m and vacant space had reduced by 46,200sq m. Overall office space vacancy was 7.8 per cent, down from 10.5 per cent in December 2016.

"Late last year we were staring down the barrel of a possible 15 per cent vacancy rate within a few years," says Maitland. "We will now likely see vacancy rates at nearly half this level. This represents an acute shortage of available space, and a complete change of direction for the Wellington office property market."

Steve Maitland, Colliers International