Major Tauranga CBD block up for grabs

The site where Durham Motor Inn sits is up for sale, offering a significant piece of Tauranga CBD land for buyers. Photo/supplied

A prominent and substantial city block of land in Tauranga's central business district has been placed on the market for sale.

The site where Durham Motor Inn sits on Cameron Rd is being marketed for sale by international tender through Bayleys Tauranga, with tenders closing on April 5.

The property is bordered by Harington Street, Durham Street and Hamilton Street and sits directly opposite Tauranga Domain.

A prominent and substantial city block of land in Tauranga's central business district has been placed on the market for sale. Photo/supplied

The management lease at Durham Motor Inn expires in July this year. The rectangular-shaped landholding contains a separate 148 square metre commercial building – previously occupied by a specialist recruitment and labour hire agency.

The 2755 square metre freehold property is zoned city centre under Tauranga City Council's district plan. The classification allows for any new building stock to be constructed up to 49 metres high above the Moturiki datum.

Bayleys Tauranga salespeople Brendon Bradley and Lynn Bradley said the location's city centre zoning allowed for numerous development opportunities, while the existing commercial premises would deliver holding income over any intervening period.

Bradley said there was also the option of either continuing the Durham's motel operations long-term as a business investment, or alternatively offering a new short to mid-term management contract to an experienced accommodation operator while plans were drawn up for any new structure on site and acquiring the necessary council building consents.

"The template for a leaseback unit entity already exists with the neighbouring Kingsview apartment block directly over the road on Durham Street - which features a mix of owner/occupier tenants and a number of units operated under the Quest on Durham hotel brand as serviced apartments," Bradly said.

"Tauranga's commercial property sector has been mooting city-fringe hotel sites for a number of years now, and the demand is still there for a nationally-branded four – five-star hotel operator to set up in Tauranga.

"It's also not beyond the realms of possibility that a retirement village operator
could build a boutique central city high-end assisted-living retirement complex on the site given the popularity of Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty for retirees."