Classy, glassy look at St Lukes

An artist's impression (left) of the commercial building planned for a corner site next to the Westfield St Lukes shopping mall in Sandringham. Image / Supplied

A planned glass-facade, two-level commercial building on a corner site next to the Westfield St Lukes shopping mall is already being marketed as one of the last remaining opportunities to secure high-profile space in the Sandringham retail hub.

The distinctive Auckland freehold property, which will include 15 carparks, is being offered for sale or lease through Grant Magill and John Davies of Colliers International.

Building is expected to start soon on an empty lot on the corner of St Lukes Rd and Morning Star Place. A ground-floor retail tenancy of 240sq m and a first floor office of 129sq m are planned, with tenants having the option of taking one or both floors.

Magill says all consents are in place and the building is due to be completed in mid 2012, giving a business a great opportunity to create an identity on a busy intersection within the St Lukes retail precinct.

"The site has excellent street frontage to the busy St Lukes Rd, and is located diagonally opposite the Westfield St Lukes mall giving excellent exposure to more than 31,000 vehicles passing by every day along with pedestrians coming and going."

Ash Hira, Colliers International's retail leasing director, says the number of stores in the large-format retail hub next to the mall off Wagener Place to the southwest has risen, resulting in a tight market for retailers.

"The area's popularity has exploded in recent years, with a number of key national names opening larger-format stores in the precinct. Demand for retail space in the St Lukes area is still high, but the availability of retail premises is now very limited - almost non-existent. The lack of available development land compounds the situation.

"This new development is a golden opportunity for a retailer, bank or perhaps a service provider such as a medical centre to snap up a new building on a high-exposure corner site in this busy area."

Davies says the site has an exposure advantage over the large-format retail hub, which is set away from the main St Lukes Rd arterial down the Wagener Place side street.

Magill and Davies are also offering five small retail units in the nearby Wagener Place development.