Nine properties comprising most of the residential block at right; and the grey two-storey corner commercial building, are on the market. Photo / Supplied
A parcel of nine contiguous residential properties, zoned as Outer Business Centre and spread across 1ha of central Paraparaumu, is for sale and suitable for a business, mixed-use or apartment development.
"These sites are to be sold either individually, in parcels, or as a whole," says Stephen Lange of Bayleys Wellington who, with colleague Sharon Vodanovich of Bayleys Kapiti, is marketing 4-16 Kapiti Rd, 25 and 29 Amohia St, and 4 Waimarie Ave, Paraparaumu for sale by tender closing 4pm on Wednesday, December 5, on behalf of a family trust and property company owning the various components.
"Combined this is over 1 hectare of Outer Business zoned land adjacent to the commercial centre of one of the fastest growing areas in the Wellington region; so the possibilities are enormous," Lange says.
He says the section sizes range from 674sq m through to 2023sq m and, all but one of the sections, has a dwelling on it.
"In addition, a 1012sq m property with a tenanted two-storey commercial property on the corner of Kapiti Rd and Amohia St, is being offered for sale on behalf of a separate vendor.
"Acquiring this property also, would enable a development buyer to take control of the entire corner from Amohia St - the former State Highway 1 - through to Waimarie Ave."
Lange says that in 16 years of selling real estate on the Kapiti Coast, he can't recall an opportunity like this one given the nuances of the individual properties and the potential for redevelopment that the sites, in any number of combinations, offer.
"The sites are within 150m of the Paraparaumu Railway Station and Coastlands Shopping Centre, and with more than 1ha of land bounded on three sides by public roads, this could be the time to completely re-shape the future of this very central part of Paraparaumu."
Lange says the area was previously zoned Residential but was identified in the new District Plan as suitable for commercial or mixed-use development.
"Hence, all nine of these adjoining sections were rezoned Outer Business Centre meaning the total area is suitable for business use and medium density/apartment style developments as we understand it," he explains.
"It may be feasible to have mixed-use development in this zone – as we are seeing being built in Auckland's CBD and city fringe suburbs – with commercial and retail units on the ground floor and apartment living on upper levels.
"However, a prospective purchaser will need to clarify any proposed usage with the Kapiti District Council as, to date, there has not been any comparable development in the revised Outer Business Centre zone.
"We also feel there could be demand from individual buyers looking to snap up a residential project in a good location as there is a well-documented shortage of residential property available on the coast."
Lange says a number of the eight dwellings, spread across the nine sections, are in need of some form of maintenance or renovations if they are to be retained as living accommodation.
The properties include a six bedroom brick home with extensive garaging to the rear of the section, an old villa, two mirror-image two-bedroom units, and several weatherboard dwellings.
"It's fair to say that maintenance has lapsed on these properties and, realistically, it would not be economical to repair two of the dwellings."
The properties have a combined August 2017 rateable value (RV) of $4,165,000 and of this, the land value component is $3,550,000.
"The motorway improvements in the wider region have opened up the Kapiti Coast for homebuyers and investors and we expect solid interest in these centrally-located Paraparaumu offerings," says Lange.
Data from QV Valuations shows that residential property values rose 7.1 per cent in the 12 months from October 2017 to 2018 on the Kapiti Coast.
Lange says astute and strategic property acquisitions by passive family investors over six decades resulted in the consolidated offering on the market today.
"The late Joss and Bruna Rutten bought 4 Kapiti Rd, Paraparaumu in 1956 in the days of a much-loved Brazier's local corner store which sold everything from gumboots to pies. The three-bedroom homestead housed the couple and their six children.
"From this humble beginning on the real estate ladder, Joss and Bruna started buying neighbouring properties one by one, until they acquired the whole block – along with other properties in the area."