AUT sites offered at Mairangi Bay

Red border lines indicate the site at 17-19 Apollo Drive (left) and the one at 41 Centorian Drive (right). Photo / Supplied

By True Commercial

After many years of ownership, AUT is offering two Mairangi Bay sites for sale as a commercial and residential opportunities.

JLL agents David Mayhew and Jason Armstrong are marketing the properties through individual expressions of interest campaigns, closing October 25. Both sites are for sale due to a change in circumstances with AUT Millennium, says JLL agent David Mayhew says.

• The property at 17-19 Apollo Drive is 1.3ha of elevated bare land, zoned General Business.
•The property at 41 Centorian Drive is 2ha with a large building on-site, which has been used as a campus-style office in the past but is currently vacant. This site is zoned Mixed Housing Suburban.

"The longstanding relationship between AUT University and the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health commenced in 2009, when the two joined forces to create the charitable trust, AUT Millennium," says Mayhew.

"The aim of the trust is to provide a world class environment for high performance sports training, health and wellbeing, community sport and sports related research and education.

"As a result of the trust's strategic review of assets and future facility needs, AUT is placing these two significant, and very different properties on the market.

"Sites like this in an established area are extremely rare and this opportunity is unique as what we are looking at are sites that back on to each other, but one is a commercial proposition and the other is a residential proposition, so essentially we envisage inquiry from different buyer pools to suit each site."

"The Apollo Drive site is a commercial opportunity which we believe would suit commercial offices, storage or light industrial use. The back of the property connects with Residential zoned land and at the front the site is hedged by light industrial units and offices.

"The North Shore is experiencing historically low industrial and commercial vacancy and new build land is almost exhausted. This well-located site represents one of the last few greenfield sites in the area."

JLL associate director of research and consulting, Tom Barclay says that, given the dearth of Industrial zoned land on the North Shore, new development is a difficult prospect. This has put pressure on existing stock with occupiers facing limited choice should they wish to reposition to newer or larger premises.

"With demand for new industrial space on the Shore, this property will assist in the future delivery of new stock and we anticipate high interest from the developer market."

He says the Centorian Drive site represents a prime residential development offering.

The Mixed Housing Suburban zoning enables intensification with development in this zone being two level detached and attached housing in a variety of sizes and building types. The housing under this zoning needs to be in keeping with the existing character of neighbouring properties.

"As well as the opportunity to develop the whole site into residential lots, the Centorian site could also suit a retirement village and use of the existing premise could be explored," says Mayhew.

The AUT Millennium facility for sport and health and the Owen Glenn National Aquatic Centre are within walking distance, with the AUT Millennium facility backing on to the Centorian Drive site. Also nearby are cafes, service station, Bunnings Warehouse and access to motorways running north, south and west.

Mairangi Bay is a popular beach location and the residential site is only a five-minute drive to the beach. REINZ data for August 2017 showed the median sale price for the area was $1.8m.