Impressive CBD office is high on character

The New Zealand headquarters of Australasia’s biggest jobs website have been put on the market in a prime central Auckland location.

The fifth-floor offices in a character building at 3-7 High Street, in the heart of Auckland’s central business district, have been occupied for over 13 years by the Australian-owned SEEK group.

The SEEK group of employment and education businesses employs around 1,000 people in Australia and New Zealand, and more than 10,000 around the world.

The offices at Unit 5A, 3-7 High Street are now being marketed for sale or lease by way of a tender closing on 16 March (unless sold or leased prior), through Bayleys Auckland Central.

Salespeople Phil Haydock and James Were said the unit was a self-contained stratum in freehold-titled full office floor of approximately 400 square metres.

“The property encompasses the entire fifth floor of a character seven-level commercial building,” said Mr Haydock.

“Originally constructed with five levels in the early 1900s, the building had a further two levels added around 1913. Over time, the structure has been upgraded while its character attributes have been retained. It has an Initial Evaluation Procedure seismic rating of 72 percent of new building standard,” Mr Haydock said.

“The building is home to retail activities at ground level with levels of office accommodation above. The full-floor premises at Unit 5A are attractive character offices with polished wooden floors, exposed brick walls, painted ceilings, double hung sash windows to the High Street frontage and feature lighting.”

Mr Haydock said the space was largely open-plan and incorporated a reception area, offices and meeting rooms. The amenities were of a good quality and included tiled floors, a kitchen, three toilets and a shower, he said.

Mr Were said that as a full-floor commercial unit with excellent natural light throughout, the property was highly versatile and suitable for a variety of configurations.

“In particular, it would lend itself well to being split into separate tenancies. This offers the ability to occupy with rental income on the side or the potential for a diversified, multi-tenanted cashflow,” said Mr Were.

The High Street property is zoned Business – City Centre under Auckland Council’s unitary plan. This zoning allows a wide range of activities to be established in most parts of the city centre. It enables the greatest intensity of development in terms of height and floor area to occur in the city centre. Within the city centre itself, development potential is concentrated in the core CBD.

“This office’s downtown CBD location with good access to a wide range of amenities is undoubtedly one of its most attractive attributes,” said Mr Were.

“It sits at the northern end of High Street, near its intersection with Shortland Street, which forms the heart of the city’s major legal and financial precinct. Around the corner is Queen Street, one of Auckland’s prime retail and office locations.

“The immediate area is home to an abundance of cafes, restaurants and bars. It is a short walk from the office to the vibrant Britomart precinct, including the Britomart Transport Centre,” Mr Were said.

“This redeveloped area includes other high-quality character offices with a number of public relations, fashion and design firms. Commercial Bay and the waterfront are also within easy walking distance.”