Construction chief Anthony Leighs is building a new $30 million high-end office block in the Christchurch CBD on the site of the former Excelsior Hotel that was destroyed in the earthquakes.
Covering four levels at 211 High Street, the curved glass-facade building will house Leighs Construction and a leading local law firm, with only one office level remaining, together with ground floor hospitality and retail.
Leighs is developing the site through his company, Portus Property Limited.
The development is aiming for a high NABERS rating certification once completed.
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“We want to create a high-quality and responsible addition to the Christchurch landscape and a great building for the future. When we considered this, and thinking about future generations, a mass timber building with low embodied carbon was a very easy choice,” Leighs says.
“Cement and concrete manufacturing is estimated to produce about 8 per cent of the world's greenhouse emissions, whereas timber naturally sequesters carbon, even after the tree has been cut down.
“There’s no doubt that building occupiers now, and certainly more so in the future, are going to be very focused on the impact of their buildings on the environment.
“I’m absolutely certain that responsible business leaders will demand buildings where everything practical has been done to reduce the impact on the environment through both the construction and the ongoing operation.
“For me personally, if I’m able to control the design of a building, I am absolutely committed to doing our part to reduce carbon emissions to the extent we practically can.
“211 High Street is an important opportunity for us to ‘walk the talk’ and create both a special building, but also a building that is good for both the occupants and the environment.”
Serviced by 23 basement car parks, the building will have a gross floor area of 4,518sq m and will sit on 925sq m of land.
Scheduled for completion in April 2024, the build will start to address the acute shortage of office space available in the central city, according to Office Leasing Brokers Brynn Burrows and Tom Lax of Colliers Christchurch.
“There’s a record shortage of space in the inner city and we’re experiencing significant demand from tenants wanting to be back in the CBD. But there’s so little space available,” Burrows says.
“Our recent survey revealed only 9.7 per cent vacancy in CBD office space – that’s the lowest figure recorded since Colliers began surveying the market in 1993.”
There is no current corporate office space (350 sq m or larger) available in the CBD’s inner core, the area that covers the retail precinct through to Cathedral Square.
Burrows says a full office floor of 832 sq m on Level 2 of the subject property is available, and 200sq m on the first floor. The ground floor is currently split into a larger 410sq m hospitality tenancy and two retail tenancies of 83sq m and 87sq m respectively, although these could be combined.
“We envisage it will act as a link between the CBD, High Street precinct, and the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena Te Kaha.“
Architect Szymon Gozdzikowski of Ignite says the building will be constructed with timber beams and columns and timber panels in the flooring and will feature energy efficient services and an attractive open atrium with a feature staircase and a full height green wall.
“The main idea behind the design was to create a clean, fabric-like curved glass facade wrapping the upper office levels. This will help define the urban corner and show the innovative timber structure,” Gozdzikowski says.
- Article supplied by Colliers
