Ministry workers enter smart new digs
Hundreds of public-sector workers are moving into the rebuilt Charles Fergusson Tower, which is part of the $203 million Bowen Campus redevelopment in Wellington.
It’s the culmination of a major rebuild of the 1970s building named after Sir Charles Fergusson, the 1924-30 governor-general.
Ryan Carter, portfolio manager for Precinct Properties, the building’s owner, said there had been strong interest in leasing and they were thrilled to welcome the ministry into their new offices.
An initial 400 staff members from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) started shifting on January 14, and 1158 MPI were expected to work there.
MPI had leased the whole building with 13,750 square metres of office space.
The 26-month redevelopment involved the installation of a new glass wall facade, and new services including lifts and airconditioning.
New carpets, lighting, ceilings, toilets, showers and bike parks are part of the refurbishment.
The 15-storey building had also been upgraded to 100 per cent of the National Building Standard (NBS).
‘‘The end result is a high-end office space equivalent to that of office space in leading international cities,’’ Carter said.
Precinct Properties has also been redeveloping the Bowen State building, which is due for completion
staff in the third quarter of 2019. Bowen State has a new facade, seismic strengthening to 100 per cent of NBS, new lifting systems and mechanical services and a new modern base build fitout.
The architecture firm responsible for the two buildings’ revamp is Warren & Mahoney, and the construction company is L T McGuinness.
The second stage of the transformation is the construction of two new buildings close by, at 40 and 44 Bowen St, at a cost of $160m.
Precinct Properties, which specialises in developing inner-city commercial buildings, said it would take about 2.5 years to build them, adding 22,000sqm of office space to Wellington’s very tight prime office market.