Building new dreams at business parks
Where once business and industrial parks were about function over form, today they are being reimagined as vibrant innovation hubs that drive efficiencies and encourage people to take on our most complex challenges.
When the first business park opened its doors in Alabama in 1955, workers could park their cars and stroll straight to their desks.
Soon, business parks sprung up around the globe. Businesses were attracted to the sprawling suburban locations, where land and building costs were cheaper and where floor plates could be larger. But they were rarely places where employees wanted to linger after they’d shut up shop for the day.
It’s a different story today as business parks – and their industrial counterparts – are being reinvented as collaborative campus-style environments that offer the levels of amenity, technology and sustainability now expected in the city.
Andrew Quade, head of AMP Capital’s Industrial – Asset and Development Management team says his customers are seeking “dynamic and sustainable workplace environments” that foster community and collaboration.
“Strong sustainability credentials and amenities like end-of-trip facilities, akin to what you would expect in prime CBD properties, are now key expectations of industrial and business park customers,” he says.
An impending vacancy recently gave AMP Capital an opportunity to reposition 1 Thomas Holt Drive at Macquarie Park to meet these expectations. The building was recently stripped back to its shell and core, and redesigned to make the best use of natural light and city views, and to meet contemporary standards for collaborative, high-performance office space.
While access to arterial roads and transport infrastructure remain key drivers for AMP Capital’s traditional industrial base, Quade says retail and lifestyle amenities are now just as important, as they help “attract and retain” employees.
Quade points to AMP Capital’s ‘building connection’ program which aims to enhance networks and connections within its parks.
“Initiatives such as free fitness classes and knowledge sharing workshops have been extremely well received,” Quade explains.
Ben Spooner, managing director of Caribbean Park in Melbourne, says business parks are rapidly evolving beyond their old emphasis on “how to maximise profit on the available land”.
He says business parks are embracing technology and sustainable design to minimise carbon emissions and the use of resources, while also supporting the more flexible, cooperative working style preferred by corporations today.
Spooner says this approach guided the development and expansion of Caribbean Park. The estate features wide roads, generous open spaces and a 15-hectare lake, for example, and “the parkland setting has been a real differentiator” that brings people together. The entire park is Wi-Fi enabled and close to transport hubs, providing modern connectivity within a natural setting.
All buildings under construction as part of the Stage 3 of the park’s development are required to meet a minimum 5 Star Green Star rating, and Caribbean Park aspires to reach 6 Star Green Star on future buildings.
“This aligns with the trend towards better and more energy efficient buildings, which translates into a reduced energy cost for potential tenants,” Spooner says.
“Our aim has been to replicate CBD and city fringe energy efficient buildings in the suburbs. We’re focused on delivering the quality of space that suburban tenants have been craving, our philosophy being that locating in the suburbs should be a choice rather than a compromise.”
Frasers Property has recently completed the four-hectare, $4 million Rhodes Corporate Park. The six buildings across the park enjoy direct public transport links and more than 2,000 car spaces. The park is currently 95 per cent leased to major organisations including Nestle Australia, National Australia Bank, Rawson Homes and Unisys.
Reini Otter, executive general manager for commercial and industrial at Frasers Property Australia, is convinced that staff engagement and wellbeing will transform business and industrial parks over the next decade.
While health and wellbeing may be well-established drivers in the CBD commercial sector, the trend is emerging in the business sector “as employees demand the same standards” he says.
“Business parks are often defined as campus developments, and in recent years this has seen the proliferation of buildings that lack design substance and are really white collar factory-type environments,” Otter says.
But expect this to change.
“Companies that empower their employees with active and engaging workspaces that promote autonomy will find themselves with a competitive advantage in an environment of intense competition for talent,” he says.
“This is about more than funky spaces, bean bags and free food,” Otter adds. Instead, it will involve “a deeper understanding of the impact that nature has on us as human beings – and how we incorporate that into our building designs.”
Paul Kirkwood, APP Corporation’s regional general manager, says the term “business or industrial park” has evolved as government looks to create employment zones. With this evolution, he believes there is “far less need to segregate traditional industrial activities”.
“Segregation between traditional land uses will be less apparent as business owners want to be located where their employees live, and employees are looking for jobs close to home,” he says.
Kirkwood has recently overseen the development of ALDI’s new Regency Park distribution centre in Adelaide. APP was responsible for the development process from site identification and acquisition to managing the construction and operational fitout. The distribution centre has enabled ALDI to bring a new type of shopping experience to the South Australian supermarket sector.
“The pace of business and industry is changing fast,” Kirkwood says, with owners requiring their facilities to be flexible in design and fitout to rapidly adapt as their operational requirements change over time.
“Asset owners don’t have the luxury of long lead times to wait for their facility to be designed and built. It’s all about creating flexibility to capitalise on delivering efficiencies for the business.”
1 Thomas Holt Drive, Caribbean Park, Rhodes Corporate Park and the ALDI Regency Park Distribution Centre, together with WA’s Cockburn Commercial Park, are all finalists in the LJ Hooker Commercial Award for Best Business or Industrial Park. The winner will be announced at the Property Council of Australia/Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation & Excellence Awards Gala Dinner on Friday 5 May 2017. Tickets are available now.