The Fashion Island retail hub in Pāpāmoa is up for sale and agents expect to be "inundated" with inquiries from prospective buyers.
The 16 individual commercial units at 42 Gravatt Rd are being sold at auction or by negotiation with prices ranging between $800,000 and $3.5 million.
The retail destinationincludes Burger Fuel, The Seafood Collective, Bonds, Bendon Outlet, Majestic Nails & Beauty, Cotton On Body, Cotton On, Cotton On Kids, Puma, Sketchers, All Stitched Up, The Hair Hut, Decjuba, Amazon Surf, Under Armour, Converse, Sheridan Outlet and the management office, and Blackberry Eatery.
Neighbouring the Pāpāmoa Plaza, Fashion Island is located in the Pāpāmoa Town Centre, which includes Pak'nSave, Mitre 10, ANZ, BNZ, ASB, Repco, KFC and a medical centre.
Owner and Gravatt Road Properties director Ben Jones said the company had just recently bought the shopping complex.
"We saw it as a quality investment with quality tenants. The complex has obviously been looked after and was in a very good condition."
Jones said Gravatt Road Properties planned to retain some of the properties and after unearthing original plans it had decided to subdivide the units and on-sell them.
"The centre was originally designed in 2006 to be unit titled. We didn't intend to subdivide so soon," he said.
"Things have moved relatively quickly, which is a good indication of the standard the centre is in at the moment."
Jones said commercial property in the Bay of Plenty was tightly held and breaking up the titles opened up opportunities for smaller commercial investors keen to invest.
The shopping centre is managed by COMAC Retail Property Group with an appointed centre manager. It has 122 on-site carparks.
"Pāpāmoa is a growing suburb and has been absolutely booming. It's a positive trend for Pāpāmoa in general," Jones said.
Ray White Commercial Tauranga managing director Philip Hunt said it was a "significant" sale and he and commercial and industrial specialist Christy Arundel expected to be "inundated" with inquiries.
"We expect to get a good level of inquiries from out of town but local investors have got the head start and will be able to move quicker."
Hunt said the sale was designed to cater for smaller commercial investors who could buy one or more units and identify which tenants they would like to take over.
He said he had been working with two interested buyers but had they acquired the complex they were unlikely to subdivide it into separate unit titles.
He encouraged local ownership with local investors owning one or two buildings each.
"These are an outstanding opportunity for investors who want to either diversify their portfolio or get out of residential."
He said the most recent sales figures for the shopping centre showed its sales turnover had increased on average 56 per cent year on year.
Ray White Commercial Tauranga managing director Philip Hunt and commercial and industrial specialist Christy Arundel. Photo / Supplied
Fashion Island centre manager Roz Irwin said sales were up compared to last year, which showed consumer confidence was high.
The shopping complex was fully tenanted and had been for some time, she said.
"Many of our stores are outlets and are renowned international brands that you will only find here at Fashion Island in the Bay of Plenty."
Pāpāmoa Plaza centre manager David Hill said Fashion Island "certainly filled a need in the market" and has done since it opened.
"It's a great retail destination that compliments us well."
Hill said retail spending had been climbing post-Covid-19 lockdown, which was great for the region's retailers.
"They can't go overseas so people want to shop local and support local retailers."
The 16 units will be auctioned off on September 8 unless sold prior.
In 2016, the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend revealed ACC lost $10.1 million on the sale of Fashion Island while the new owners made $1.15 million by on-selling it to Cotton On Group for $6.25m before the deal was even settled.
In 2017, Fashion Island underwent extensive refurbishment to upgrade the shopping complex.
