Old quarry farm offers new prospects

The three titles for the Silverdale farm are outlined in red. Photo / Supplied

Up for sale with its former limestone quarry that once employed up to 100 people, is a large Silverdale farm that has a 1km frontage to the northern SH1 motorway.

The farm is owned by Jeff and Paul Hopper of the Hopper family, best known for its development the Pauanui, Whitianga and Marsden Cove canal waterways.

Richard White, of Bayleys Auckland, is marketing the 102ha property with Logan Gilbert, of Bayleys Northwest Auckland and Mustan Basgara of Bayleys Orewa office. It will go up for auction in Bayleys Auckland auction rooms on June 23.

The farm is spread over three adjoining titles with access from Old Pine Valley Rd, Sidwell Rd and Argent Lane. White says it is in an area where there has been huge residential growth in the past five years, spurred on by the motorway extension to Orewa.

"It is a very significant land holding for the area because of the development that is occurring around it," he said.

Paul Hopper's Redvale Lime used to operate out of the site 10 years ago but it has since ceased quarrying operations following difficulties in obtaining resource consents.

White says that the quarry is estimated to have another 20 years of limestone in it, and it may still be possible for a new owner to extract it with the right consents. On some of the clay soil in surrounding farmland, lime is still a valuable resource, he adds.

In the meantime, the property has been used as a grazing block, but its real value is in its location and its potential as a future development block.

The property is surrounded by new developments such as Fulton Hogan's huge 3500-site residential subdivision development, the Silverstone Industrial Office Park site directly across the road and adjoining the motorway, and the Ryman Rest Home development in Orewa.

He says the property is likely to benefit substantially from further growth of the region in the next few years. Already there have been five new schools developed to cater for future demand.

While the 2006 Census shows he Rodney District had a population of 89,601 four years ago, Rodney District Council estimated in 2008 this figure was closer to 100,000 and forecasts project this figure to nearly double again in the next 20 years.

"Orewa is seen as a beautiful seaside residential area for retirees and young families alike who enjoy the life on the beach away from the big city but are still only a quick and easy drive away from Auckland City," White said.

"In terms of this property, the Rodney District Council has identified it as a possible area of future industrial land under the Silverdale West Structure Plan, because of its proximity and ease of access to and from State Highway One.

"The Albany Basin has very little land left for expansion so Silverdale is now firmly the focus for the region's future industrial and residential development needs."

He says the 34ha and the 8.3ha sites each have substantial four-bedroom homes on them and the property is well-equipped with buildings and fencing.

The largest title of 59ha has the motorway as its boundary.