BRISBANE is in the midst of a multi-million dollar warehouse refurbishment boom, as older logistics centres undergo extreme makeovers to compete against newly built industrial buildings. Colliers International director of Industrial Anthony White described the refurbishment boom as “unprecedented”. “These owners are looking to attract new tenants to their buildings following existing tenants vacating, sometimes after leases which are on a term of 20 years or more. Most of the buildings going up are purpose built for tenants and the rents are very competitive. So if you want to compete, landlords have to bring their assets, which have good underlying fundamentals, up to modern A-grade standards that present as new.”
“We believe this is only the beginning of a refurbishment cycle and that many owners will need to consider how their buildings function to suit modern tenants’ requirements,” said Mr White. “Efficient truck access, undercover loading areas and quality fire and building management systems will be demanded by tenants as the design and construct market offers brand new buildings at competitive rentals.”
Mr White said Brisbane Airport Corporation was in the final stages of completing a substantial refurbishment of a 26,912sq m distribution centre at 51—57 Qantas Drive.
Brisbane based De Luca Construction & Development worked with Brisbane Airport Corporation in delivering the project and commented that they are seeing increasing demand for this type of construction work. “Taking an existing building that could be 20 or 30 years old and installing modern systems and features is not without its own challenges,” said De Luca’s MD Nic De Luca. “This project required substantial attention to make sure the new fire system and office refurbishment was suitable for the needs of the main tenant GPC.”
