Sylvia Park Stage Two 79% Leased
NZX & MEDIA RELEASE
29 November 2005
Sylvia Park Stage
Two 79% Leased
Kiwi Income Property Trust announced today that it has leased 79% of the retail space for Stage Two of its Sylvia Park retail project in Auckland. This stage encompasses 14,000 m2 in area, and includes around 50 specialty fashion retailers and a PAK’nSAVE supermarket.
This follows the Trust’s announcement in August that the majority of space – now 97% – in Stage One of Sylvia Park had already been leased.
Chief Executive of the Manager of the Trust, Angus McNaughton, said that leasing interest in Sylvia Park had gathered significant momentum over the past few months, and 65% of the overall area within the four stages of Sylvia Park had now been leased. He said “this is a very positive achievement at this stage of the leasing programme, with Stages One and Two not due to open until mid-2006 and the third quarter of 2006 respectively.”
The two mini majors, Amazon and Life Pharmacy, had now committed to Sylvia Park. Amazon is the leading surfwear store in New Zealand with the latest labels, and will open a flagship 500 m2 store. “Strategically the location of Sylvia Park is perfect for us”, says Managing Director Steve Alach. “It’s so well placed and will give us excellent coverage in the Auckland region. Sylvia Park will be the ‘new kid on the block’, so to speak”, he says, “and because retail is an ever changing face, Sylvia Park will become a new place where people want to shop.”
Strong commitment and leasing interest from both Australian and New Zealand retailers was also being received. The Australian listed retailer Just Group had committed to five of its fashion brands – Just Jeans, Jacqui E, Jay Jays, Dotti, and Portmans. Some of the new Australian retailers signed for Sylvia Park included Howards Storage World, Retreat, Shoobiz, and jewellery store Secrets.
Mr McNaughton also commented that there was significant ownership of the new retail centre from icon New Zealand fashion retailers. Hallensteins, Glassons, Meccano, Max, Canterbury, Bendon, Line 7, and Hartleys were just some of the retailers who had committed nearly 12 months in advance to secure prime tenancies in the fashion precinct.
On a net rental basis, Stage One was now 99% leased (97% by area), Stage Two 69% leased (79% by area), with the overall 62,000 m2 retail centre now 57% leased by net rental (65% by area).
Mr McNaughton said that the leasing focus would shift to Stages Three and Four early in 2006, with the Centre on track to be complete by mid-2007. He also said that strong construction progress was clearly evident on site, with the main structure to the southern half of the development nearing completion, the shell of PAK’nSAVE well advanced, and the overbridge now across the main North Island railway line adjacent to Sylvia Park. Piling had also commenced on the Stage Three Entertainment and Leisure Precinct, which includes the flagship Hoyts 10 cinema complex, restaurants and other specialty retailers.
ENDS
About Kiwi Income Property Trust
Kiwi Income Property Trust’s objective is to optimise returns for its unit holders through the careful acquisition, development and professional management of its property portfolio. The Trust is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and is ranked within the top 15 on the NZX 50 Index, and is a member of the NZX 10 Index.
The total value of the Trust’s assets is $1.3 billion. Key assets include:
Key Office Assets
Vero
Centre Auckland
National Bank Centre (50%) Auckland
21
Pitt Street Auckland
Majestic Centre
Wellington
Unisys House Wellington
BP House
Wellington
NGC
Building Wellington
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Centre Christchurch
Key Retail Assets
Northlands
Shopping Centre Christchurch
Centre Place Shopping
Centre Hamilton
Downtown Plaza Shopping
Centre Hamilton
North City Shopping Centre Porirua
The
Plaza Shopping Centre Palmerston North
Kiwi Income Property Trust’s website address is www.kipt.co.nz