Huge scope in the heart of Highbury

In the heart of Birkenhead's Highbury shopping centre on the North Shore, a freehold, commercial building with "huge scope" for adding value through redevelopment, is being offered for sale for the first time in 32 years.

The mixed-use property at 12 Birkenhead Avenue, which is generating $56,000 a year in net holding income from its 936 sq m three level floor area, is being marketed for auction on March 15 by Deborah Dowling and Euan Stratton of Colliers International.

"This property offers massive potential to a range of purchasers, from local owner-occupiers looking to utilise the vacant space for their own business purposes, to developers who can revamp the upper tenancies into potential residential or into commercial uses to maximise the value of the building," Dowling says. "We also expect to receive interest from investors looking to buy into this tightly held location and have had inquiries from student accommodation and childcare providers."

Three retail tenancies on the ground floor offer additional income for owner-occupiers who might wish to occupy the upper levels only, as well as providing a reliable income stream should the new owner wish to refurbish or re-develop the premises before taking occupation."

The upper level of the property has expansive easterly views over the North Shore and beyond to the Waitemata Harbour and Rangitoto Island, with a glimpse of the Auckland CBD, Stratton adds.

It houses three small ground floor retail/cafe-bar tenancies, of which two are occupied along with two vacant upper levels. The property has good on-site car parking.

"In May 1980 the Tigers club purchased the property and officially opened the clubrooms in August of the same year, becoming the first club in New Zealand to own and operate club facilities out of their own commercial premises," says Stratton.

"Now, after 32 years occupying the property, the club is ready to move on and intends to share facilities at the Birkenhead War Memorial Park with the Birkenhead City Cricket Club."

The Tigers' clubrooms on the two upper levels are both open-plan, with bar facilities, amenities and storage areas.

"Mixed use commercial properties of this nature in one of the North Shore's more popular suburbs don't come on the market very often," says Stratton.

"The Birkenhead shopping precinct serves a large residential catchment from Northcote Point through to Beachhaven including Chatswood, and as a result, the centre has low vacancy levels in both retail and commercial properties."

The property is on the western side of Birkenhead Avenue, alongside a BNZ branch and shares "the strip" with national and international tenants. It backs on to the very popular and bustling Highbury Shopping Centre. Only a short distance away is the Rawene Car Park which offers ample additional car parking for the Birkenhead area.

"This area is a very successful suburban retail location," says Dowling. "A nearby intersection of three main roads results in good traffic volumes passing the property, helping to maximise visual exposure. There is a steady pedestrian flow past the property as a result of its central position within Birkenhead."

Onewa Rd, a main arterial, is a short distance from the property and leads to the Northern Motorway.