RCG, a property strategy, architecture, design and research company based in Auckland has received two awards at the National Property Council Gala recently.
In the education category, RCG received an Excellence Award out of seven finalists for the Paul Keane Gymnasium, a multi-purpose facility designed for St Mary’s College in Auckland.
The company also collected a Merit Award in the retail category for the Farro Fresh Retail Development in Grey Lynn, Auckland.
The wins reflect RCG’s ability to provide leading development solutions across a range of sectors, from commercial, mixed-use, retail and hospitality to tourism, town centres, lifestyle precincts and transport hubs.
RCG director John Long says the opportunity to apply the company’s expertise to support the education sector and Catholic Community was a great experience.
“When a project like St Mary’s comes along, that’s when our work gets exciting. The challenge was to deliver a state-of-the-art yet commercially-sound facility supporting the college development programme while enhancing student learning, Mr Long says.
The property awards focus on outstanding delivery of value as well as project innovation, design and construction.
Both projects have a similar result, but the strategy behind the Farro development was quite different. RCG director John Lenihan explains why the call was made to re-purpose the original building on site.
“Our tactics kept base-build and fit-out costs to a minimum whilst also being true to the design needs of Farro Fresh,” Mr Lenihan says.
“It was strategically designed to achieve a holding income and attract premium long-term tenants.”
Since Farro began in 2006, RCG have assisted the brand with its retail strategy, design and property development programme.
“We call it ‘constructive thinking’ and it’s what makes our company unique. We back up our work with sound research, giving our clients confidence in our recommendations and helping them to achieve commercial success.”
