$6m revamp for Hamilton East site

An artists impression of what the refurbished KGL Property building will look like on 1 Clyde St.Photo / Supplied

KGL Property has revealed its plans for a $6 million refurbishment of the 1970s-built 1 Clyde St in Hamilton East to start in mid-2018. Renovations will create what is thought to be the largest modern, shared office space in Hamilton.

The sale of the property to KGL Property was announced in May 2016 when former owner and tenant Hill Laboratories announced it would vacate the building and move to their new headquarters on Duke Street. With all Hill Laboratories staff now out of the building, the renovations can begin.

Hamilton-based KGL Property, owned by Torpedo7 founder Luke Howard-Willis and his father Guy, created a joint venture with Foster Construction Ltd and the partners will work together on the refurbishment project.

"The building's main structure will stay as is, but we'll strip it right down to the concrete and reclad it with modern construction materials. In addition to a new modern look inside, we'll also install new mechanical and electrical kit through the building," says Foster's commercial manager Leonard Gardner.

"The internal and external facelift will also keep in character with Hamilton East's unique community and the surrounding buildings," says Gardner. KGL commercial property manager Ray George says, "Hamilton East has been revitalised over the past few years making it the perfect location to host a shared office space."

The neighbouring Deloitte building opened in 2009, the Ebbett Prestige's Volkswagen and Audi dealership opened opposite in 2015 and the Mavis & Co Café integrates into the precinct's design.

The location gives access to the Waikato River as well as to local amenities such as parks, river walks, cafes and gyms.

Gardner says, "A shared office environment is a great option for businesses as it allows them to expand quickly without the large capital costs of setting up an office with associated infrastructure. The interaction within the common open plan environment also facilitates cross-pollination of ideas."

The three-story building, based on 2,700m2 of floor area, will be able to accommodate 200-225 staff on site. One of the floors will be the shared space with the other two being leased out to larger companies.

"The concept plans for the building are complete. We're now looking to progress design and commence construction by mid-2018. We've already had a number of enquiries from businesses looking to rent space," says Gardner.

The original building was constructed for government use back in the 1970s. Hill Laboratories later purchased the building and used it as their headquarters from 1996 to 2017.

KGL and Foster Construction contracted architect APG to design the building.

Foster Construction have recently completed the Genesis Energy building on Bryce St and are also working on refurbishment of the former Farmers building on Alexandra St.

KGL Property is quickly growing in the Hamilton commercial property sector, with their most recent project being the Raynes Road precinct located on the corner of Airport Road and Raynes Road near Hamilton Airport. The land is zoned for industry, warehousing, manufacturing, logistics, aviation, office and retail.

The new multi-tenant building was completed in September this year and includes twelve 250m2 commercial units that are fully occupied.