Silverdale business area all set to be a shining success

Rosemary Wakeman. Photo / Supplied

The shortage of business land on the North Shore, particularly for industrial activities, is resulting in substantial business growth in the Silverdale area.

Bayleys North Shore Commercial's Rosemary Wakeman says the industrial precinct to the south of Silverdale township is leading the growth of the area which is now emerging as a business hub in its own right. She says some of the developments undertaken there in the last three years are equal in quality to any in Albany.

"Silverdale Estates has changed the landscape of the industrial area forever with their kilometres of retaining walls and quality projects and have several hectares of land available for development. Their main focus is on undertaking design build projects for leasing."

Wakeman says that due to lack of available land, rents in Silverdale were previously similar to Albany, but a number of tenants have relocated, gone into receivership or amalgamated.

"Now several properties are available and rents are more than competitive with Albany and other parts of the Auckland region."

Wakeman says warehouse rentals currently range from about $70 per sq m for a large basic unit to $110 per sq m for a small unit. Office and showroom rentals generally sit between $140 and $190 per sq m. Land values are around $220 to $300 per sq m which Wakeman says is considerably cheaper than the limited supply of industrial land in Albany.

There are several new industrial sites available for development including lots in a new subdivision at the end of Foundry Road, which are priced from $250 per sq m, depending on size.

Further north, Stage One of the new Silverstone Business Park, between the motorway and Wainui Rd, has freehold sites of 3555sq m to 8507sq m.

The business park is zoned as a Knowledge Economy Business Park for "clean" commercial activities including office, storage, depots, warehousing, non-polluting manufacturing, assembly and high-tech industry. Stage Two will have a central strip zoned mixed-use that will allow retail, residential or office complexes.

Maximum height limits for Silverstone Business Park range from 15 to 20m but with no floor area restrictions.

Additional motorway access, just north of the current interchange, is planned for 2012 which will provide excellent access to the business park.

Close by, the new Millwater residential subdivision is well under way with more than 3000 new dwellings planned during the next 10 years on more than 300ha of rolling land with bush and seas views. Stages One and Two, consisting of about 170 homes, have been released and are 80 per cent sold. With an expected population injection of an estimated 10,000 people, Millwater will provide a good source of labour for businesses locating in the Silverdale area.

Wakeman says there are also numerous small retail developments planned in the Silverdale area while market speculation is that a supermarket and large hardware store will be developed opposite the East Coast Rd and Hibiscus Highway Junction.

A substantial retail and office complex is planned on a site approximately 500m northeast of Silverdale township and a large national bulk retailer is finalising earthworks on the northern corner of Wainui Rd and the Hibiscus Highway.

A variety of properties available for occupation in the Silverdale area are featured in Bayleys North Shore Commercial's latest Workspace portfolio, which also contains a wide range of other leasing opportunities north of the harbour bridge.

The publication is distributed to most businesses on the North Shore.