Development portfolio holds surprises

Upper Queen St section?

How a vacant section could exist in heavily built-up Upper Queen St seems a great mystery, especially to those of us who have unknowingly driven or walked past it for years. Yet a compact 275sq m development site at 70 Upper Queen St certainly does exist and it is being offered by tender, closing Wednesday April 27, unless sold prior.

Auckland Council has issued consents for retail and office development on the site. The rating and land valuation is $690,000. The Auckland Council zoning is mixed use, but that brief description somehow fails to convey the novelty of this site near the heart of the Auckland CBD.

Agents Mark Stevens and Jack Downer, who are selling the property for Barfoot and Thompson, are confident its unusual nature will generate strong interest. Some of the detail specific to this site includes the fact that a total of 103sq m of land at the front is leased from Auckland Council on a long term lease for $1 a year.

The ground surface rises up from the road frontage, gently over the front and centre parts but steeply at the rear. The overall difference in level front-to-back is nine to 10 metres. Rates are set at about $5600. However, consents issued are for a three-level building, a structure specifically designed to maximise the configuration of the compact site, plus its central location.

All this adds up to a seldom-seen opportunity to create a brand new development on a vacant site near the centre of New Zealand’s largest city.

Your own MOW depot

It can’t be every day you consider purchasing a vast former Ministry of Works Depot with a 2200sq m of building floor space, right in the heart of a small Waikato town.

But a 1.5859ha site at Paeroa boasts just that, a solidly-built collection of ex-Government buildings on a site once used by the old MOW as a workshop and depot.

This is a freehold property, with a Heavy Industrial Zoning and no covenants to worry about. It is adjacent to nearby housing, however, so under the Hauraki District Council’s Proposed District Plan, conditions might be imposed to mitigate activities which annoyed neighbours.

Some might observe the property has an oddly military look, being enclosed by a massive chain-link-fence, with entry gates off Grey St and Opatito Rd. But with industrial land shortages plaguing the main centres, such a substantial property between Auckland and Tauranga, would seem to have potential. It would be worth picking the brains of Barfoot and Thompson agents Tom Taunt and Matt Kirkbride, who have put the property on the market for sale — as a private treaty by negotiation.

Nine buildings on the site include: a shed of 87sq m; main workshop of 911sq m; staffroom/store or 332sq m; stores/garage of 43sq m; covered loading dock of 30sqm; stores building of 183sq m; NRB block of 577sq m; administration offices of 328sq m; and a boiler house of 48sq m.

There are two tenancies: Transfield Services occupy 6059sq m on a fixed term lease; Downer NZ is month-to-month, occupying 9800sq m.

Marsden Pt industrial

Here’s opportunity to obtain low-cost industrial properties in an established industrial site close by North Ports’ deep water port.

There’s proximity to major transport nodes, yet at a fraction of what one would pay to achieve this in Auckland. The sites — being sold as vacant land — are (Lot 1) 22,780sq m, and (Lot 3) 30,720sq m, being located at 554 and 558 Marsden Point Rd respectively.

To be sold by Chris Brosnahan, of Barfoot and Thompson Commercial Sales, these freehold industrial sites naturally have electricity, water and telecommunications services in place and at the ready.

Lot 1 has a rating valuation of $960,000, while Lot 3 has one of $1,110,000.

As stated, the proximity is ideal for logistical purposes — as the properties are just three km from Marsden Point’s deepwater Port and NZ Refinery, and likewise about three quarters of a kilometre from State Highway 15A. Ruakaka shopping precinct (Kepa Rd Industrial Park) is likewise a short distance travel via Marsden Point Rd.

In recent years this location has grown in popularity due to easy access to both Port and Oil Refinery, while excellent roading infrastructure provides useful road access to either Whangarei to the north, or Auckland to the south. The properties are zones Business 4 under the Whangarei District Council’s Operative Scheme.

They are on offer by deadline private treaty, ownership being set down to change hands at 4pm, on Wednesday April 27, unless sold prior.

Apartments in the suburbs

In Tomo St, New Lynn, a sizeable site — 710sq m and almost square — has been placed on the market by Barfoot and Thompson agents David Palmer and Graeme McHoull.

This interesting property has a strategic location — just one address back from the intersection of Tomo St and Croydon Rd.

It comes with a newly granted resource consent, enabling construction of an apartment development issued for a three-level mixed-use structure, one comprising six apartments altogether.

At ground level there would be seven car parks and a commercial unit — a 55sq m office.

The ground floor would also contain a lobby, lift and rubbish storage area.

First and second floors would comprise four and two apartments respectively, each having two bedrooms and a private outdoor balcony.

In Tomo St, a cul-de-sac off busy Croydon and Rua Roads, it has the bonus of easy access to the CBD, via Great North Rd.

The New Lynn location usefully places this property into one of Auckland’s most respected and established residential and commercial suburbs; that’s a big plus when considering future marketing of apartments to be constructed.

26 Inlet Rd, Takanini

Opportunities to purchase a portion of land for development such as of 26 Inlet Rd, Takanini, seem all too rare these days. Having a square area of 2707sq m, this property is nevertheless regarded as a “small lot”, one admirably suitable for industrial development in this substantially built-up part of Auckland.

The property has a useful proximity to the big city, being located just off the southern end of the Takanini Straight — that busy and thriving section of the Auckland’s Great South Road.

In some ways this region south of Auckland City could be regarded as "a vast industrial workshop", a region whose factories, distribution, commercial and logistics centres serve not only the bustling Auckland Region but arguably also the entire country.

Having Industrial 3 Zoning makes the land at 26 Inlet Rd fit in admirably — it can be put to a wide range of industrial and related uses.

It is situated near the Southgate Retail facility, a location which in recent years has grown in popularity with many businesses and become an industrial hub.

Nearby developments and businesses include Mitre 10 Mega, Hirepool, Southgate Shopping Centre and Pak’nSave. The site for sale fronts on to Pahurehure Inlet, further reducing potential for issues with neighbours.

Effectively this makes the property even more suitable for the activities already allowed under its Industrial 3 Zoning, which are light manufacturing, production, logistics, storage, transport and distribution.

A thorough geotechnical report for the freehold site is available upon request.

The parcel of land for sale, being marketed by Barfoot and Thompson commercial/industrial agents Ewan Orsborn and Craig Brunt, represents a great opportunity to enter the commercial market either as an investor or to occupy.

Sites on HBC Highway

Two adjacent properties near the centre of Orewa — one comprising a motel being run as a going concern and the other a group of flats — present much potential for investors to consider.

Barfoot and Thomson commercial sales agents Bruce Jiao and Gary Seekup are selling the properties, which are located at 382-384 Hibiscus Coast Highway.

• No 382 includes two buildings on two cross-lease titles, with three separate residential tenancies.
• No 384 includes an eight-unit motel, of various room configurations, operating as a going concern on a single freehold title.

But in the modern era these sites have potential for future apartment development, being in an Auckland Council High Intensity Residential Zone.

They’re just a short walk from Orewa Beach, which provides a broad sandy promenade the entire length of town. And they also boast close proximity — a minute or two’s stroll — to Orewa’s main town centre.

In recent years this location has grown in popularity with the development of nearby residential and commercial areas. In fact, many regard Orewa Beach as under-rated, despite being 25-minutes-drive from the Auckland CBD.

Arguably, you only have to consider the history of property values at similarly scenic Takapuna Beach, to grasp the likely trajectory of future land values at Orewa.