"The current owner has held the property since 2000 and has now decided to formally list it for sale, based on the current market conditions and appetite among buyers. It will be sold following this marketing campaign, presenting an excellent opportunity for developers or land bankers."
The site houses a large warehouse and smaller adjoining office building, as well as ample car parking. Holding income is also provided from existing short-term tenancies.
The property is situated on a prominent corner site on the northwest corner of Taylors Rd and Morningside Drive in the developing city fringe suburb of Morningside, bordering Kingsland.
Lynch says there is space for much more floor area on the 4897sq m site than the current 2635sq m of buildings.
"With moves towards higher-density uses of city fringe land in central Auckland, and given the location in a popular residential and commercial area, this site is an obvious candidate for a more intensive use such as retail, residential or mixed."
He says the site could be developed into a number of different future uses.
"The land is currently under-utilised, with large yard areas in addition to several older buildings on site. A buyer could retain the existing buildings and maximise the property's lease profile as an investment; or alternatively treat it as a brownfields development site and build from scratch."
Kermode says Auckland's strong forecast population growth is expected to increase the desirability of the city's inner suburbs as higher-density residential locations.
"This will spur developments like apartments and townhouses, as well as premises for service businesses such as childcare, car parks, service retail and cafes," he says. "Many of the older industrial buildings in city fringe areas are now marginally obsolete and given the proposed mixed use zoning under the unitary plan, the properties which house these older buildings are ripe for conversion to higher, better and more efficient uses of the land such as residential and retail."
Dromgool says the property constitutes a rare and substantial land holding on the city fringe. "Properties of this size and this close to the Auckland CBD are very hard to come by. We believe it is the only land holding this big in a city fringe location currently available for sale."
He says the site's proposed mixed use zoning under the unitary plan would allow for a residential development.
"The property is located just 200 metres from Morningside train station, as well as New North Road, so there is definite potential for a viable apartment development, perhaps with a retail component as well, given the existence of similar developments in the area and changing uses of city fringe land."
Auckland Council's proposed unitary plan aims for the mixed use zone to reinforce the role of centres as focal points for business and community investment. Mixed use zones are intended to provide a transition, in terms of use and scale, between residential areas and the city centre.
