The Northern Territory news Thu 13 May 2010
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2010-05-13
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
application/pdf
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Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/221223
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/696707
NT BUSINESS REVIEW, May, 2010 9 P U B : NTNE-WS-DA-TE:13-GE:109LO-R: C-M Y-K Station sale to show interest IF you had deep pockets and on arriving in Darwin wanted to show everyone that your company was a seriously heavy hitter, where would you go? To NT House? Traditionally, yes. You would encounter lots of VIPs in the lifts going to and from the Chief Minister's Office. But quelle horreur! It is already 21 years old, and for your company image, you are looking for something built this century. Nevertheless, you give it a try. Sorry, there isn't enough space for your firm. Go away! OK then, let's look at the Mitchell Centre, Admiralty House, TIO House, Jacana House (600 square metres on a short-term sublease there, but that's too small and too short term), NAB House, Conoco Phillips House.... But there is no room for you there either. Where can you get quality new office accommodation in Darwin? The answer is: in very few places. There is some space at Civitas; a couple of floors, almost 1,000 square metres. Maybe that is just enough for you, but maybe not. There is also strata office space at The Waterfront. But they are small strata offices. This time, you curse out loud: too small again! Out of town, there's Arnhemica at 16 Parap Road, which has just over 2000 square metres. There are several plans for office developments in the CBD, but not only has the fat lady not sung yet, she may be retired before they come on stream. You want to be in or near the CBD. Your deep pockets are going to have to fork out between $400 and $500 per square metre for the kind of space you are after. Hell, even your Sydney office is paying only $600. And where are you going to get the consolidated area you need? Civitas and Arnhemica. Full stop for now. Either there, or wait, or find an older building renovated to the standard you can live with. But you can't even find that space. You swivel around in your big leather chair to admire that magnificent view. You draw back on your Cuban cigar. The view looks grey; the cigar tastes lousy. Maybe you should buy the whole Darwin CBD instead. Why not? After all, locals bought back in when the institutions sold off because they could sell quickly in Darwin while they could not elsewhere. God knows, they needed the cash. You could probably get it all for an eight per cent yield. But look at those new government leases 10 15 years, so you can't kick them out even if you did buy Darwin. You bark down the phone at your PA (you enjoy that): "Get those agents for Arnhemica and Civitas on the line now. And I mean now!'' You slam down the phone. A ray of sunshine comes through the clouds; the cigar tastes good again. To help meet expected industry growth and demand in Broome, we are seeking input on future industrial land development needs. Two estates are currently scheduled for development: an extension of Blue Haze light industrial area, and the creation of a new estate on Broome Road for general and transport industries. Have your say by completing our online survey and registering your interest at landcorp.com.au/broomeroadindustrial. The survey closes at 3pm on Wednesday 23 June 2010. For more info call our Broome office on (08) 9192 6557. L A N D 1 5 2 8 HAVE YOUR SAY ON INDUSTRIAL LAND DEVELOPMENT IN BROOME. 09PROPERTY TERRY ROTH comments on the rural property scene THERE is very little in the way of completed sales of pastoral properties across the Territory this past month. We are awaiting the auction of Dry River, which will give us an indication of the level of interest for Sturt Plateau blocks and, possibly, also an indication of where value levels are headed. We are also aware of a number of negotiations taking place for various pastoral properties around the NT/Kimberley and hope to be able to report on these in future issues. As the wet season draws to a close, there is concern over the lack of rainfall in some areas, especially much of the Kimberley and parts of the western NT. Good isolated storms over the past month have helped a lucky few. For those not so lucky, it will be a difficult year indeed. Conversely, parts of the Alice Springs area are in very good shape and appear to have had sufficient rainfall to carry them through until spring at least. Properties that received as little as 50mm in 2009 have already had 250mm this year, with the last significant falls around Easter. The Todd River has already flowed twice. The prospect of a good season and grass reserves has often triggered salest. But that was when many other pastoral areas were short of feed. That is not the case this time around, so it is difficult to predict whether there will be the same effect. Earlier this month, the NT Cattlemen' Association held its annual industry conference in Darwin. Apart from the social interactions, the conference highlighted the strengths of the live export market, as well as some of the challenges being faced by the industry here, with animal welfare being an issue of importance. Also of interest were the special market conditions facing our trading partners and competitors. FOR RENT: Winston Group boss Clinton Arentz at Arnhemica MIKE McDERMOTT of Herron Todd White looks at the commercial property market No room at the inn for business 4 6 fa 1 7 /1 0