Space offered in new Christchurch building

An artist's impression of the new building at 230 High St, Christchurch.

The owner of a new building in the heart of Christchurch is offering strata titled space for purchase and is also interested in hearing from prospective lessees.

"This property is just around the corner from Cashel Mall," says Chris Harding, commercial sales and investment agent for JLL who has the sole agency for 230 High St which he is marketing through an expressions of interest process, closing on September 30.

"It's a small site of just 231sqm but the owner has consent for a modern seven-storey building," Harding says. "With floor plates of 160sqm, 165sqm and 189sqm, this project will suit smaller operators who are looking for space in a quality CBD building."

The site is owned by Rockwell which is managing the construction of the building as its new head office.

The concrete foundation has already been laid and the building will be constructed using reinforced concrete slabs and columns with steel beams.

"The property will be strata titled and the first, third, fourth and fifth floor are available for purchase. The owner is also interested to hear from any parties interested in leasing space," Harding says.

There will be 150sqm of retail on the ground floor, set up for hospitality use with a commercial kitchen.

The plans for levels one to five are almost identical, apart from an accessible bathroom on level one, which reduces the office space from 165sqm to 160sqm.

Levels six and seven are on one title, as the seventh floor has stair-only access and no ablution facilities.

The sixth floor has a smaller office area but benefits from a west-facing roof terrace. The plans show a partition running through the middle, separating it into an east and west unit. The seventh floor offers a small amount of office space with an east-facing rooftop terrace. Levels six and seven offer 189sqm of office space in total.

"We would suggest that market rent for this kind of office space in Christchurch would be around $350 per sq m," Harding says.

"The property is in a pedestrian-only section of High St and so there will be no parking on site. The plans incorporate a bicycle storage area, accessed from the lane at the back of the property, and there will be many car parking options in the surrounding area. It's worth noting that the bus exchange is located one block south."

Harding says investors need to look to the future of the Christchurch CBD.

"The area used to be a prime retail location, but many of the buildings were constructed in the early 1900s and were badly damaged in the earthquakes. Most of the neighbouring buildings were demolished but the area is now regenerating.

"The planned building fronts onto the pedestrian section of High St and will have high foot traffic when the new retail precinct opens, in December 2016.

"Retail will be centred around Cashel St Mall, which is just to the west of this property and will have positive flow-on effects for High Street."

The very popular Iconic restaurant and bar has moved in next door to the site of the new building which is also close to the former Grand Chancellor Hotel site. This is now being developed into a multi-level office complex called Grand Central, which will provide more than 10,000sq m of A-grade office space and bring another 1000 workers back into the city.