The Hamilton CBD office market continues to undergo significant transformation and renewal and is expected to gather momentum throughout 2022.
This renaissance is well overdue with the quality of office stock in the Hamilton CBD having gradually degraded over the last 20 years due, with some exceptions, to very limited reinvestment. Much of the CBD’s core office stock is made up of older properties with small floor plates, ageing building services and poor amenities.
However, considerable investment in recent years has started to transform the CBD as Council and local developers breathe new life into the city. What were once staid and standard workplaces are becoming modern offices of today.
New office development and refurbishment activity is being fuelled by continued tenant demand and a flight to quality (larger floors, increased seismic resilience, improved occupant comfort and enhanced on-site amenities, for example). As a result, there are a number of proposed, planned or in-play developments across the city.
Other drivers for this change include:
- Population growth (Hamilton is forecast to grow from ~170,000 to ~240,000 people over the next 30 years)
- The Auckland southward drift with substantial development south of Auckland spilling into the Waikato (with more to come)
- Continued economic growth across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty (again partly in response to Auckland’s growing pains)
- Ageing office stock that is ripe for redevelopment to better match occupier demand for modern workplaces
- Hamilton City Council’s zoning and development changes and significant investment in infrastructure to support growth
Read more in our latest Hamilton Office Market Spotlight report from TwentyTwo’s Steffi McKeown...
