Renovated Shortland tower still has space

Level 4 of 51 Shortland St now features a landscaped outdoor common recreation area. Photo / Supplied

Space is still available to lease in the 18-level CBL building at 51 Shortland St, in the Auckland CBD, following a major refurbishment and upgrade.

The property was bought by the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) in 2014 - part of its acquisition of 18 commercial properties valued at over NZ$1 billion from the AMP Capital Property Portfolio - and the new owner has spent the past three years progressively upgrading it.

The building, over which NZX listed insurance company CBL Corporation has recently taken naming rights, is a feature property in Bayleys' just released Workplace magazine which provides tenants with the latest information and opportunities in the leasing market.

Bayleys' leasing agent Andre Siegert says the makeover is paying dividends with tenants snapping up space but there is some still to let.

"Level 17, which has been completely refurbished, is available for lease," Siegert says. "The landlord's preference is to lease the whole 635sq m floor to one tenant but two half floor tenancies may be considered," he says "This is a very efficient office floor with a central lift core and plenty of natural light. Wrap-around views of the city, harbour and Albert Park provide a variety of interesting aspects for occupants. There is a mixture of polished concrete and new carpet flooring while upgraded building services include LED lighting with new ceiling panelling as well."

Insurance company IAG which occupies Levels 15 and 16 will not be renewing its lease when it expires later this year and these two levels in conjunction with Level 17 could provide options for larger tenants looking for contiguous floors in an excellent CBD location, says Siegert.

His colleague Brendan Graves says split floor options are available on other levels of the building in a variety of configurations and sizes.

NZX listed insurance company CBL Corporation has taken naming rights. Photo / Supplied

"A feature of the leasing market at present is the strong demand from smaller, professional service businesses for good quality office suites in the CBD," he says. "This is particularly the case in a sought-after location like Shortland St which is close to the waterfront and the Britomart Transport centre as well as being home to a number of high-profile insurance, financial services and legal firms.

"A good number of these smaller tenants are looking for space that they can move into straight away and the CBL building is catering for this by offering a variety of already fitted out office suites. These premises comprise a mix of open plan and partitioned office accommodation as well as good sized kitchenettes.

PSP has retained AMP Capital to manage its New Zealand portfolio and Craig Coote, senior asset manager for the CBL Building, says a variety of significant improvements have been made to the premises.

One of the most noticeable has been a recently completed $1m makeover of an outdoor common recreation area off level four. This has included re-waterproofing the floor, new decking and heavy duty outdoor furniture which was craned into place, and the addition of a barbecue area. Green walls have also been planted around the central core building services block.

"This is now an attractive area which is being well used by workers in the building as a lunch or coffee break area," says Coote. "It is also available for use at no charge by occupants for staff and client events and one tenant has already held a client function for around 150 guests."

Other major improvements have included new 'end of trip' bike racking and shower facilities; a refurbished main lobby, boiler and lift upgrades; and the renovation and modernisation of foyers and office space on a number of floors.

Medical practice Shortland Health, part of the national OmniHealth primary health care provider group, and a Malaysian restaurant have taken remaining vacant space in the main entry levels while smaller professional tenants have moved into newly fitted-out office space on the upper levels ranging from 150-250sq m.

Tenant Fee Langstone, which specialises in insurance law, has expanded its presence within the building, relocating to a refurbished the Level 18 top floor.