Finding a park in Parnell

Even from ground level the Parnell Road parking building has views out towards Rangitoto. Photo / Supplied

A fully leased, two-level public carpark building - delivering 49 parking spaces in the centre of Parnell - is now up for sale.

The carpark building at 290 Parnell Road is being marketed by Henry Thompson of Whillans Realty Group by tender, closing on May 18.

Located in one of Auckland's coveted retail and office precincts, the building occupies a high profile site near the junction of Gibraltar Crescent and Parnell Road and provides 22m of road frontage, says Thompson.

The standalone building sits on a 755sq m site and is leased by Wilson Parking, earning a net annual rental income of $146,209 with the current term expiring in September 2020 with rights of renewal.

Thompson believes that although this passive income will be attractive to investors, developers will also be attracted by the opportunity to develop a largely undeveloped site. There is a six-month demolition provision contained in the current lease.

"Wilson Parking is New Zealand's largest private parking operator, with about 270 parking facilities nationwide. They also operate in Australia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Malaysia," says Thompson.

This freehold land holding is located within the Epsom Girls Grammar and Auckland Grammar school zones, two of Auckland's most distinguished public schools. Residential, commercial and retail activities could be developed on the site under the flexible Town Centre zoning.

He points out that with the benefit of a height limit of 13m and harbour views of Rangitoto Island from ground level, the property offers investors and developers a prime foothold on Parnell Road.

The potential also exists to build up and add further carparks to the building.

"Standalone investments of this calibre are seldom available in the area. With Auckland facing a shortage of parking space, the fundamentals exist for rental growth over the medium term."

The building at 290 Parnell Rd has 23 uncovered carparks on the ground level, along with a pay and display machine. A ramp accessed from Parnell Rd leads to the basement level. There are four carparks along the ramp and 22 covered car parks in the basement, one of which is a tandem car park.

There are two stairwells on the southern and northern corner of the carpark. Both stairwells lead to the basement carpark with the northern stairwell providing pedestrian access to Scarborough Terrace.

"Parking is extremely limited in Parnell, so this property in Parnell Rd is well positioned to leverage off this shortage."

Thompson sees Parnell as undergoing something of a renaissance with a new wave of retail, office and hospitality developments underway.

Construction is well advanced on the new four-level Mansons St George Corporate Centre. The $100m, five-star green-rated office block will have 12,000sq m of net lettable area. Several new apartment buildings are also planned or have recently been completed in the area.

The new $19m dollar Parnell train station was officially opened on March 13 and is located just 500m from 290 Parnell Rd.

Thompson says the station is predicted to become one of the city's busiest with 2000 passengers set to disembark in the peak hours of between 7am to 9am every business day.

"In addition to the regular bus service running along Parnell Rd, this new train station will generate further demand for local retail and will provide a viable transport alternative for office workers commuting to and from Parnell."