Back to the city for Global Office
Global Office staff have settled back ino Christchurch’s central city after a nomadic existence in three different suburbs since the 2011 earthquakes.
They have moved into the newly-refurbished art deco building at 279 Montreal St, redeveloped by Richard Peebles who is currently involved in rebuilding the old McKenzie & Willis site in High St.
Global Office develops applications and systems for clients ranging from MOVE Logistics, Accessman and GVI Logistics to the New Zealand College of Midwives.
Chief executive Chris Tacon said the nine staff at Global Office were enjoying access to parks and the changing inner city after temporary accommodation in Sydenham, Cashmere and Ferrymead over the past five years.
In spite of the disruption, the earthquakes had been good for business with many firms seeking cloud-based technology to integrate with existing accounting systems, he said.
‘‘When the ground shook, it also shook up local businesses, who started looking at new ways of working.
‘‘They weren’t so dependent on physical offices and many came to understand their value lay with what was happening outside their four walls – how long deliveries were taking, how they were communicating with their clients, and how efficient they were in general,’’ Tacon said.
‘‘They came to us looking for new technology that could help them see what was going on in their businesses and make them more competitive.’’
Tacon said the arts precinct suited the creative outlook of Global Office staff.
The move also coincided with the firm’s 20th anniversary, the catalyst for a rebrand and new website.
‘‘Over the past 20 years, we’ve expanded, contracted and expanded again. We were once a jack-of-all-trades, right down to supplying cables and building websites.’’
But specialising in software development had been the best thing for the company, he said.
Global Office shares the building with main tenant, environment and engineering consultancy Novo Group.
The building, constructed in 1930, has historically been known as West Avon at 279 Montreal Street (locals often called it the Licorice Allsorts building) . It was designed by Wilford Lawry (1894-1980), who was responsible for several Art Deco buildings in Christchurch and the West Coast.
It was originally intended as accommodation for Canterbury College staff. In later years it attracted many tenants who were artists, architects, designers and filmmakers.