Demand for hub and spoke offices drives interest to this new development in Sydney

Flexible hub and spoke workplaces are emerging as a sought-after option as businesses assess their options in a post COVID-19 environment.

This is driving interest in new office developments such as Connex – a Mascot project catering to the changes in the way people do business.

CBRE Office Leasing Director Brendan Shipp said developments such as Connex were catering to an evolving market, as employers and employees experienced both the shortfalls and benefits of remote working.

The prominent 17,000sqm Avenor commercial development is situated at 2-8 Kent Road, at the entry to the West Connex St Peters Interchange, in one of Sydney’s fastest growing population areas.

Given the desire for flexible working, new developments which offer cost effective rentals and smart, environmentally friendly office solutions will be highly sought after,” Mr Shipp said.

“This is driving interest in hub and spoke, metropolitan office locations and new projects such as Connex, which cater to a new style of working.”

Avenor development director Stephen Rayleigh said a growing number of tenants were focused on smart building technology and healthy workplaces which provided features such as contactless entry, thermal screening, UV sanitisation, 100% fresh air and data analytics to help drive decision making and performance.

Mr Shipp noted that the Mascot and broader South Sydney market was well positioned to cater for this demand, with numerous office developments proposed, the most active of which have the potential to deliver over 175,000sqm of new office accommodation in the area.

“The preconceived notion that Mascot is an industrial, airport or logistic- based precinct is no longer the case,” Mr Shipp said.

“In the past four to six years there has been massive gentrification, with the introduction of commercial and residential development, enhanced local amenity and unbeatable accessibility. All of these factors have led to an increasing number of multinationals calling Mascot home.”

New entrants into Mascot’s commercial precinct in the past two years include publicly listed entities and multinationals Jaguar Land Rover, TJX, Henry Schein and BlueScope Steel. The NSW Government and Federal Government are long-standing Mascot tenants, with numerous departments housed in the precinct.

In the case of Connex, Mr Shipp said the NSW Government’s commitment to infrastructure had transformed the accessibility of Mascot, with the WestConnex M8 opening on July 5 connecting the St Peters Interchange to the M5 East in Kingsgrove.

The fact that Mascot was also just six minutes by train to Central, offering space at less than half that of city rentals, was another major drawcard for occupiers, with the Connex space being offered at rentals of $560-$650/sqm net.