As seen from the beach, the property at 387-391 Hibiscus Coast Highway is in four separate titles. Photo / Supplied
As seen from the beach, the property at 387-391 Hibiscus Coast Highway is in four separate titles. Photo / Supplied
A big motel property overlooking Orewa Beach, north of Auckland, and having a number of prospective development options, is for sale.
The land occupied by the motel business at 387-391 Hibiscus Coast Highway is a rectangular-shaped 3851sq m block adjacent to Kinloch Reserve.
The marketing is being overseen by BayleysOrewa salespeople Simon Wilde, Lynnette Thomas, and Chris Bayley of Bayleys Auckland with tenders closing at 4pm on April 26.
Featured in Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio publication, the agents say it's believed to be the largest remaining privately-owned block of land overlooking the beach and has been 'flagged' as a prime location for a high-end intensive housing development.
The site — zoned Mixed Housing Suburban and Residential Single House under the Auckland Unitary Plan — now houses the 16-unit Edgewater Motel which has been operating there for more than three decades.
However, Auckland Council's zoning permits the building of a more intensified dwelling configuration — such as apartments. The Hibiscus Coast Highway land was last year granted resource consent for a 35-unit residential development, with the consent transferable to any new land owner.
The consent allows for the construction of a four-storey luxury apartment development, with an additional level of underground basement car parking.
An aerial view of the motel site - at centre - adjoining Kinloch Reserve to the left. Photo / Supplied
Wilde says the beachfront landholding encompasses four separate titles — meaning that while the zoning allows for an intensive medium-rise development opportunity, the property might also be subdivided into smaller sections capable of sustaining individual standalone or terraced home developments.
Other options for the property could include retirement living, daycare, a timeshare development, or redevelopment of the motel complex.
"Whatever the intentions of a new owner, the existing commercial accommodation premises operating from the site will deliver holding income over any intervening period," Wilde says.
"In addition to the transfer of the resource consent, any sale of the land would include the existing consented development plans for the site. The initial preparatory phase of hard work has been completed and is ready to be handed over to a developer."
He says the owners of 387-391 Hibiscus Coast Highway are also the operators of the Edgewater Motel business.
The Edgewater's 16-unit inventory comprises studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units; along with two free-standing family options. The property also has a separate manager's residence.
Thomas says there is the option of either continuing the Edgewater Motel's operations long-term as a business investment, or offering a new short to mid-term management contract to an experienced accommodation operator while a development programme is firmed up.
She says the blueprint for any mid-rise residential development on the Edgewater Motel site is clearly evident at the Ocean Point Apartment complex directly across Kinloch Reserve.
The Ocean Point Apartments comprise a four-storey residential complex containing 28 luxury units in a configuration of two and three-bedroom homes, along with two penthouses, and a pair of duplex dwellings. The block was completed in 2015 — with lower level residences selling since then for upward of $1,095,000, and $3m-plus for apartments on the upper floors.
Thomas says Orewa and the surrounding Hibiscus Coast region is experiencing significant population growth, and the Hibiscus Coast Highway property provides an outstanding opportunity to capitalise on this.
