The complex at Dairy Farm Rd, Palmerston North, is indicated by the blue and white roofed buildings in the foreground. Photo / Supplied
A big block of land and buildings is for sale in Palmerston North at the heart of New Zealand's planned and foremost agricultural plant and food research centre.
The future national Food Research & Development hub is called 'FoodHQ', says Karl Cameron of Bayleys Palmerston North who is marketing the 1.87ha freehold block at Dairy Farm Rd for sale by tenders closing at 4pm on Thursday June 20.
Cameron says the 5500sq m of buildings on the site encompass the former National Controlled Environment Laboratories; glasshouses with potting sheds; various implement and equipment storage sheds and a records storage block.
It includes facilities being jointly developed in Palmerston North by Crown research agency AgResearch and Massey University, with dairy production and marketing giant Fonterra as an anchor corporate neighbour in the immediate location.
The land within the Dairy Farm Rd property for sale, is zoned under the highly-specialised Institutional category in Palmerston North City Council's plan.
Featured in Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio magazine, the majority of the buildings on the property date back to the 1960s, with some built in the 1970s.
Cameron says most of the buildings are now obsolete - making redevelopment of the site likely for tenants to benefit from the distinctive Food HQ location.
He says many of the buildings on the Dairy Farm Rd block were previously occupied by fellow Crown research agency Plant & Food Research - the New Zealand-based science entity providing research and development for the fruit, vegetable, crop and food product sectors. Plant & Food Research consolidated into its newer facilities immediately adjacent in 2013.
Fonterra leases an implement and equipment storage shed on a month-to-month basis while two major telecommunications firms lease space for their cell phone towers with leases running through to 2031 and 2037.
Cameron says the core of the FoodHQ complex is now expanding, so the Dairy Farm Rd site is ideal for a new tenant/owner to 'piggy-back' off the specialist tenancies that are occupying space in the agricultural, horticultural and pastoral research hub.
"The long-term vision of FoodHQ is to develop a fully-integrated 'supercampus'," he says.
"Participants will include Fonterra's research centre, two Crown Research Institutes, Massey University and the food science research entity The Riddet Institute.
"When completed, the 'supercampus' will give local and international customers of New Zealand food and agricultural products access to a world-class food-focused innovation, product research and development, technology, and commercial expertise- all built on multiple pillars of academic research.
"The synergy running within all the entities operating within FoodHQ is to add value to New Zealand's food chain – from the seeds and plants we are growing and the animals which feed on what comes out of the ground; through to how primary produce is harvested, handled, processed and delivered."
Cameron says that with income-generating leases in place, any new owner of Dairy Farm Rd property will have a small holding income in place while plans are submitted to Palmerston North City Council for the construction of new purpose-built premises.
Total annual rent from the site is about $33,000.
"It's fair to say that most of the buildings within the Dairy Farm Rd block for sale are well past their useful use-by dates and have low seismic new build standard (NBS) ratings. The most likely and efficient future for this site is to undergo a total redevelopment – ideally with purpose-built design and build structures that would benefit from the special location and add value to the super campus," he says
"Tenancy opportunities for any resulting new building configuration on the Dairy Farm Rd block could stretch far beyond companies simply involved in food production research. They could possibly encompass food marketing and packaging firms, food manufacturing and processing equipment enterprises, or seed and vine planting equipment businesses."
Cameron says that with multiple entry and exit points off both Dairy Farm and Batchelar Rds, the site could be subdivided into smaller plot sizes.
"The buildings on this property have largely had their day. The value of this exciting site is the large land holding in this very special location which is almost impossible to replicate," Cameron says.