Warkworth property has development upside

The freehold property sits at the gateway to Warkworth and is leased to Carters. Photo / Supplied

A high-profile property on State Highway 1 north of Auckland is for sale with a renewed lease to national tenant Carter Holt Harvey and zoning allowing for future residential development.

The 13,496sq m freehold property sits at the gateway to the fast expanding township of Warkworth and is leased to Carters – the trade-focussed building supply subsidiary of Carter Holt Harvey.

"Its sale presents an opportunity to secure an investment property with a well-known and established tenant," says Josh Coburn of Colliers International who, with colleagues Caroline Cornish, Benson Tarm and Shoneet Chand, is marketing 43 Auckland Rd for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on Thursday June 6 unless it sells earlier.

Carters has just renewed its lease for three-years paying $220,564 plus GST in net annual rent with increases fixed at 3 per cent per annum and market reviews on renewal – thus providing guaranteed income growth. Two rights of renewal of three years remain giving a final lease expiry in August 2028, after which a new owner can unlock the underlying land for residential development.

Carters has an existing use right, but the land itself is zoned Residential Single House under the Auckland Unitary Plan allowing for the future development of standalone suburban dwellings.

"In the meantime, a new buyer has locked-in rent growth from a registered lease to a nationally recognised brand," says Coburn.

"Sites of this scale are difficult to find and its location on State Highway 1 gives the property access to the wider region's amenities including popular beaches and vineyards."

Cornish says the site has a 317m of frontage to SH1. "The 993.6sq m main building is predominantly built of timber, which befits the tenant's position as the largest structural timber supplier in New Zealand.

"The main structure comprises a converted two-level Lockwood styled dwelling that is attached to the front of a more recently constructed medium stud warehouse. Built on concrete foundations, the warehouse has dual access via multiple roller doors.

"Other structures include a small workshop with a large 254sq m canopy, and a smaller lean-to canopy and a garage."

Tarm says the site has full services to the boundary and is relatively flat which would assist with future subdivision and residential development.

"The wedge-shaped site falls from the road to the open watercourse on the eastern boundary, with a slight cross fall to the north.

"Earthworks have been undertaken to provide a gently contoured area around the main building area, together with a lower yard area through the northern, narrower portion of the site.

Chand says a recently constructed retail and commercial development to the South of the property has a BP service station, 24-hour McDonald's restaurant, a childcare centre and 22 other retail tenancies.

"A Pak'nSave supermarket has been proposed to the north of the town centre, at Hudson Rd," he says.

"The Puhoi to Warkworth Motorway extension is currently in the construction phase and is due to be opened in 2021.

"Its completion will improve travel times to Auckland and will help to establish Warkworth as a regional hub for Auckland, as well as the gateway to the popular and affluent Omaha and Matakana settlements."