This 7252sq m high-stud warehouse and office complex, on an industrial site of over 1.3ha, is for lease at 8 Amelia Earhart Ave, Airport Oaks. Photo / Supplied
This 7252sq m high-stud warehouse and office complex, on an industrial site of over 1.3ha, is for lease at 8 Amelia Earhart Ave, Airport Oaks. Photo / Supplied
For the first time since its construction 17 years ago, a big warehouse and office building, on a large industrial site with exposure to main routes into and out of Auckland airport, is up for lease.
The property faces traffic running along the revamped George Bolt Memorial Drive offering its next occupant a huge profiling opportunity, says Jamsheed Sidhwa of Bayleys Real Estate which has been appointed the sole agency to lease 8 Amelia Earhart Avenue, Airport Oaks.
"The complex will be available for occupation in November," says Sidhwa who is marketing the premises with Scott Campbell, Bayleys' national industrial director.
Sidhwa says the 7252sq m high-stud warehouse and office building was built on its 1.3314ha site in 2001 to accommodate the rapidly growing business of Express Logistics.
That company was subsequently acquired by Toll Logistics which also took over the lease on the building. However, Toll Logistics is consolidating its operations at the Savill Link business park in nearby Otahuhu and will be moving out of the Airport Oaks property later this year.
"It's only very occasionally that opportunities of this calibre become available in the sought-after Auckland airport industrial precinct, where vacancy rates are at an all-time low," says Sidhwa.
"Not only does the property offer a good standard of large-scale modern industrial accommodation close to the airport but it also has about 150 metres of high profile frontage to George Bolt Memorial Drive providing a massive branding opportunity.
"It is among the first buildings motorists see when emerging from the new bridge underpass on George Bolt Memorial Drive with a view shaft of around half a kilometre to the huge volumes of vehicles heading towards the airport.
"Two sides of the large premises are highly visible to passing motorists and offer extensive signage and profiling possibilities, with the northern side of the building having a large sealed hardstand area in front of it that could also be used for display purposes.
"The opportunity to lease this property represents a significant chance to join a Who's Who of big name businesses with a presence on George Bolt Memorial Drive including DHL, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Mainfreight, Panelpina, TNT, Tristar and Cardinal Freight," Sidhwa says.
The property is accessed off Amelia Earhart Avenue, a loop road connecting at both ends with Richard Pearce Drive. The latter runs parallel to George Bolt Memorial Drive and is another significant route to and from Auckland airport, particularly for trucks.
Sidhwa says another major drawcard is the large site's drive-around and drive-through capability with heavy traffic travelling around the exterior of the building before entering the main freight off-loading and canopy area and exiting through the western frontage onto Amelia Earhart Avenue.
He says the building has 6324sq m of clear-span warehousing with a steel portal, a stud height of 10m-13m, and translucent panels in long-run galvanised roofing enhancing natural light.
"There is an extensive racking system in place throughout the warehouse that could be available for purchase by a new occupant, or alternatively, Toll will remove this. Near the main entranceway, there is 928sq m of air-conditioned office space."
The secure site, with automatic gates at its entranceway, has extensive yard and trucking areas as well as plenty of car parking options. There are 10 carparks outside the office area with capacity for a further 40 in a northern yard area without impeding freight access through this yard to the main canopy load out area.
The main 1400sq m canopy has a substantial under cover area for unloading and loading trucks and containers. Sidhwa says the landlord is currently reroofing and recladding the whole of this canopy to make it bird-proof.
Multiple, motorised roller doors are on three sides of the building - three are under the main canopy, two are under the smaller south canopy and one on the northern side of the building facing an additional 1800sq m hard stand, excluding the drive-around area.
"This means the building is well equipped to cater for the busiest of 24/7 operations and would be suitable for a wide range of logistics and freight operations," says Sidhwa.
Campbell says the property is up for a lease at time when industrial vacancy rates around the airport sit at just 1.5 per cent, according to the latest Bayleys Research Auckland industrial accommodation survey.
"The precinct's vacancy rate has halved since 2015 when it stood at 3.1 per cent," he says. "This is despite significant development activity over the past three years which has added close to 30 per cent more industrial space in the area covered by the Bayleys Research survey
"Obviously closeness to both the domestic and international airport, and associated services such as customs, is a big drawcard for businesses but there are other factors at play as well in the precinct's popularity.
"These include ease of access to the southern and southwestern motorways and the new route north through the Waterview tunnel; as well as an increasing range of amenities such as hotels, conference centres, childcare, gyms, a supermarket and other retail and food and beverage offerings which are now an integral part of this well-established and rapidly growing business precinct."
