Experts eye Auckland as a tech hub
AUCKLAND could beat off Melbourne and Sydney to become the region’s leading ‘‘tech hub’’ for creative businesses, according to international technology trends expert Michael Davis.
Davis visited Auckland recently and said he believed New Zealand and Australia were underprovided in terms of a ‘‘tech hub’’ where creative businesses could cluster.
He said tech hubs tended to spring up where there was culture, appreciation of the arts, fashion and design, as well as new technology.
Logical places for such a hub were Auckland, Sydney or Melbourne, but he believed Auckland was much better suited.
‘‘My first impression of Auckland was that the architecture has commonality with East London and Brooklyn in that there is a strong stock of mid-century brutalist buildings that were built to last, they just need re-orientating for this generation.
‘‘City Works Depot and Ponsonby Central, for example, have been successfully repositioned for creative occupiers and appeal to the style and food-conscious people of today.’’
As head of JLL’s London Unlimited division, Davis spent 13 years in the central London property market and worked extensively with technology tenants. However, if Auckland was to become a tech hub of the future, it would need some flexibility from the office market.
‘‘Auckland has a legacy of older buildings, a lot of which are now in their 30s and have had their time.’’
Owners of older properties could grasp the advantage by adapting their buildings so they were costeffective ‘‘incubators’’ for businesses before they scaled up.
Mark Grant, head of markets at JLL, said Wynyard Quarter offered all the potential for a tech hub, given its mix of office, apartment living and amenity.
‘‘The blend and mix of established tech companies together with the incubator and start-ups in this dynamic sector have the establish this vision.’’
JLL leasing agent James Thorburn said GridAKL was the innovation section of Precinct Properties’ Wynyard Quarter commercial development and would be a big source of additional space.
‘‘Precinct Properties will redevelop and build another four stateof-the-art office buildings in a campus-style development targeting high-growth innovative businesses. The space will be architecturally and culturally interesting and part of a world class, efficient and sustainable environment,’’ he said.
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