Marine facility Orams Marine has been given the green light to work on its planned mixed-use development project within Wynyard Quarter.
Orams Marine’s planned Site 18 project, which is expected to be completed by mid-2021, will comprise a high-quality mixed-use development, seemingly connecting Beaumont Street through to the water’s edge.
The project, estimated to cost $140 million, will include two commercial buildings, incorporating office, retail and marine trade with a total gross floor area of 6,507sqm.
The buildings will add vital office space to the area which has had zero commercial vacancy since July 2018.
The new commercial hub will take its place alongside Silo Park,North Wharf, GridAKL, the Auckland Fish Market and VXV.
Orams Marine’s development will be one of only two office buildings – and the only A-grade building – on Westhaven Marina, the largest marina in the southern hemisphere.
According to real estate company Bayleys, with almost 100 per cent of the current commercial development pipeline already pre-committed, news of the new mixed-use project is expected to resonate with commercial occupiers who have a huge appetite for space in this world-class urban precinct.
Bayleys has been appointed as the exclusive agency for commercial leasing within the Orams Marine Village, with Brendan Graves, James Thorburn and Polly Markus handling the office leasing and Ranesh Parmar, the hospitality and retail opportunities.
The commercial project, which, according to Bayleys, is based around sustainability principles, will see ground floor retail fronting Beaumont Street with marine trade behind and high-spec loft style office space on upper levels across two buildings, with Madden Lane running between them.
Thorburn said the larger of the two buildings will have a large ground floor café with glazed frontage to Madden and Beaumont Streets, along with an integrated entry lobby and lounge area with a soaring 5.1-metre ceiling height.
“There will be provision for some of this area to be utilised as ‘touch-down’ space for relaxation, agile working and meetings,” he said.
Neven Barbour, chief executive officer for Orams Marine, said work is underway on its new marine-related maintenance and refit facilities water-side, including a new state-of-the-art superyacht refit facility which will treble their business capacity.
High-profile multinationals and New Zealand brands like Apple, IBM, Datacom, HP, Microsoft, Bayleys, Fonterra, Genesis, Air New Zealand, Augusta and ASB have all cemented a corporate presence within the area and, according to Bayleys, this need for quality is expected to continue as Auckland’s economic centre of gravity moves westward away from the traditional CBD.
