JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties has assisted long-standing tenant biomedical products manufacturer Beckman Coulter to relocate from Growthpoint Business Park in Midrand, Johannesburg, to a new bespoke 5 750 m² premises in the Centralpoint Innovation District, in Samrand, Johannesburg.

The Growthpoint development team started the nine-month project in March last year and completed it in December. The development represents a R60-million investment by Growthpoint and the new facility will become part of its industrial property portfolio with Beckman Coulter on a long lease.

Beckman Coulter develops and manufactures solutions for the diagnostics and life sciences industries. Its new building combines laboratory, warehouse and distribution space with a 2 400 m² head office.

“With its new custom-built building, Beckman Coulter has realised significant economies of scale and will reap the . . . benefits of operating in a more functional facility,” said Growthpoint industrial asset management head Errol Taylor.

Being located in Centralpoint provides access to security, power availability, diverse fibre connectivity and a well-maintained public precinct managed by a property owners’ association.

The new facility features several environment-conscious design aspects, such as plenty of natural light, low-energy light-emitting-diode lighting and energy-efficient air conditioning.

The building harvests rainwater for its landscaping and has a reinforced roof structure that can accommodate the weight of solar panels. The fit-for-purpose freezer and cold room, critical considerations for Beckman Coulter, use environment-friendly cooling systems and perform according to international standards.

The new Beckman Coulter head office has sufficient parking, while its distribution facility has a sizeable yard to accommodate logistics traffic.

Beckman Coulter joins the five other developments in Growthpoint’s Centralpoint development.

“Beckman Coulter is an ideal fit for the area, which is characterised by a noteworthy concentration of high-tech companies,” Taylor said.

Growthpoint recently completed the turnkey data centre development of global technology services provider NTT’s Johannesburg 1 Data Centre at Centralpoint. NTT is represented in Africa and the Middle East by South African systems integrator and managed services provider Dimension Data.

The NTT Johannesburg 1 Data Centre is expected to launch in April.

Other developments in the Centralpoint precinct include the 10 000 m² Bakers warehouse, distribution facility and regional offices, as well as the 27 000 m² Sterling Industrial Park.

Growthpoint has readied several more plug-and-play development sites for the roll-out of the Centralpoint Innovation District.