Gold Coast A-Grade Office Building Comes to Market

An A-grade office building on the Gold Coast has come to market as the city’s vacancy rates figure among the nation’s tightest.

The M1 Connect Business Hub, on a 4180sqm site alongside the M1 at 120 Siganto Drive, Helensvale, is being offered through an expressions of interest campaign being co-ordinated by Steven King and James Crawford of Colliers.

The commercial-office building, completed in late 2022, has a net lettable area of 5412sq m across three levels.

Long-term leases are in place with four tenants, including the Queensland government and property group GemLife.

M1 Connect Business Hub is being sold by Alder Developments as the company seeks to capitalise on the shortage of A-grade office space on the Gold Coast, which has among the tightest office market of any major city in Australia.

The property, which incorporates ecologically sustainable features throughout its design, was the winner of the 2023 Gold Coast regional Master Builders Awards commercial/industrial building in the $10-million to $20-million category.

It is being sold with 73 per cent occupancy, average gross rent of $457 a sq m and an average initial lease term of 4-10 years. The property has a projected annual income of $2.127 million fully leased.

The building has secure basement parking for 167 cars, an onsite cafe, enhanced breakout areas, end-of-trip facilities such as lockers, showers and secure bike storage, and high-speed internet capability.

Large contiguous floor plates across each of the three levels offer a high level of leasing flexibility with additional facilities, including basement storage areas.

▲ Current tenants in the building include over-50s community developer and manager GemLife and the Queensland government.

“With Gold Coast office vacancy rates approaching record lows of around 4 per cent, the property is positioned as a prime investment opportunity,” King, the Gold Coast director-in-charge at Colliers, said.

“Half of current leasing demand is being driven by SMEs expanding on the Gold Coast, which is a testament to the stability and strength of the local economy and the momentum of sustained interstate migration.

“Tenants in the professional service, engineering and education sectors are among the most active in the leasing market at present and that reflects the level of business activity being driven by population growth.”

The Property Council of Australia figures for July revealed Gold Coast office vacancies remained tight at 6.3 per cent compared to the capital city markets. However, Colliers said it forecast the Gold Coast vacancy rate was likely to fall below 5 per cent in 2024.

“The tightening market has led strong growth in average rentals for the Gold Coast office market where the supply pipeline is set to remain constrained at least until 2026,” King said.

Colliers’ expressions-of-interest campaign for the property closes on September 6.