City’s new hotspot
NERANG is emerging as a hotspot for office space on the Gold Coast with a business owner adding 900sq m in the past two years.
Paul Lathouras, managing director of Superior Group of Companies, built a modern 450sq m two-level office building at 10 New St in 2015.
He intended to use the property, which underwent a high-quality fitout, as his head office and move his staff from premises on Spencer Rd to New St.
However, NBN Co expressed interest in leasing space in the building and he was able to secure them last year on a three-year lease for 350sq m at $365sq m.
Jones Nicholson Consulting Engineers leased the remaining 100sq m for a similar rate.
Mr Lathouras said his staff was upset at not moving to new premises, so he decided to build another property next to 10 New St at 8 New St.
The new New St building opened this week and will see Mr Lathouras’ company, Superior Walls & Ceilings, take over 250sq m on the upper level while Jones Nicholson Consulting Engineers will move from 10 New St into 150sq m at 8 New St.
It has leased space for three years with a three-year option.
Mr Lathouras, whose operation has been based at Nerang since 2002, said he recognised a gap in the market for prime, quality office stock.
“You basically could not rent anything of quality in Nerang, and consequently, the stuff on the market was achieving rents in the high $200 to low $300sq m range,” he said.
“Basically if you wanted something nice in this corridor it did not exist.”
He said the attraction of Nerang was its central location with easy access to the M1 Motorway.
“If you are going up the motorway, Nerang heading north is better than leaving from Broadbeach because you’re a lot closer to accessing the M1.” CBRE’s Nick Selbie, who marketed the office space, said NBN Co chose Nerang for a service centre catering to the northern end of the Gold Coast.
Mr Selbie said demand for a-grade office space was rising in outlying suburbs such as Nerang.
“There is further demand for that type of product and not enough supply,” he said.
Mr Lathouras bought the 898sq m block at 10 New St for $667,500 in 2014 and 8 New St in 2016 for $670,000.
Both of those purchases were made through associated companies.
LJ Hooker Nerang principal Shane Colquhoun is another business owner-turned developer. In 2015 he bought land at 2-4 New St and this year completed a two-storey office building with a net lettable area of 920sq m.
LJ Hooker Nerang has taken over the bulk of the space while 115sq m has been leased to a mortgage broker at $350sq m, 29sq m to a cafe operator at $500sq m, and there is also 30sq m of serviced offices being leased for $280sq m each week.
Mr Colquhoun said Nerang was ideally positioned to provide quality office space.
“We need someone who owns an old property to develop it. Be brave, build it and they will come,” he said.