The retail property anchored by a Whitcoulls bookstore at 179-181 Great South Rd, Papakura.
Two significant suburban retail premises with longstanding anchor tenants are among 12 properties included in Bayleys' Total Property portfolio auction in Auckland next week.
The properties, both with sites likely to favour future development, are up for auction on Wednesday July 6, in Bayleys central Auckland auction rooms - unless sold earlier by negotiation.
A Papakura property, anchored by a Whitcoulls' bookstore, has been occupied by both its tenants for more than 25 years, and generates net annual rental income of $77,083.
On a 460sq m site at 179-181 Great South Rd, Papakura's central business district, the 477sq m single level building is in an excellent central location in the main retail strip, close to bus and train stations, says Peter Migounoff of Bayleys Counties who is marketing the property in conjunction with colleague Piyush Kumar of Bayleys South Auckland.
The building was originally constructed in the 1960s with a rear extension built in 1994 and offers two ground-floor retail shops with basement storage and 10 secured car parks at the rear of the building.
Whitcoulls four-year lease runs until September 2018 with four three-year rights of renewal. It is earning $60,000 per annum net with a Consumer Price Index adjustment due in September this year. The other longstanding occupant is Caprice Hairdressing, founded in the 1950s, which has a three-year lease running until April 2018 with one three-year right of renewal.
The property has a Metropolitan Centre zoning under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan which could potentially enable it to be more intensively developed in the future, Kumar says. The zone applies to major population centres and permits a scale and intensity of development second only to the Auckland CBD.
The zone provides for a wide range of activities, including commercial and residential, with a maximum height limit of 21 metres applying to the Papakura Metropolitan zone. Any new buildings will require resource consent to ensure that they are designed to a high standard and enhance the quality of the centre's streets and public open spaces.
Kumar says Papakura's CBD has become an investment hot spot given that it is surrounded by a substantial, rapidly expanding residential area estimated to be growing at 15 times the rate of New Zealand as a whole.
Also at the same Bayleys' auction is a 230sq m single level retail premises on a 245sq m site at 347-349 Lake Rd, Takapuna, which is being marketed by Simon Aldridge and Michael Nees of Bayleys North Shore Commercial.
The anchor tenant is the Hauraki Corner Pharmacy, which has been in occupation for over 20 years. It currently has a four-year lease running until March 2019, with one final four-year right of renewal, and provides the bulk of the property's net annual rental income of $80,500.
The other tenant is a discount store which commenced a two-year lease in April last year and has two two-year rights of renewal
Aldridge says one of the features of the property is its "double frontage" to both Lake Road, a main arterial connecting Devonport with Takapuna and the Auckland CBD, and to a large public car park at the rear. This is accessed via service lanes which run off Jutland St. "The property therefore benefits from high exposure to one of the North Shore's busiest roads and from plenty of customer parking at the rear. The dual access to the premises also increases their signage possibilities and flexibility for retail use."
Nees says the 1970s-constructed building is part of the popular Hauraki Corner block of shops, anchored by a Countdown supermarket at is southern end.
"It comprises mostly convenience service retailers and food and beverage outlets which draw their clientele from a substantial surrounding residential catchment as well as passing commuters. It's a tightly held retail destination, which rarely has any significant tenancy vacancy."
Aldridge says the property has substantial upside with its Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan's Local Centre zoning. This zone applies to suburban centres throughout Auckland, typically on main arterial roads, and allows for a mix of uses and a range of possible building heights, depending on the context, to facilitate increased office and residential living opportunities on upper floors.
"The property's closeness to Takapuna Beach and Takapuna CBD as well as to Devonport suggests that it could lend itself to apartment redevelopment in the longer term," Aldridge says.