Ready-to-go developments

An artist's impression for the development at 252-258 Great North Road.

Three high-profile central Auckland sites with plans for prestige residential and commercial developments have been placed on the market for sale by Barfoot and Thompson.

The properties, located in the central city fringe suburbs of Grey Lynn, Grafton and Ponsonby, offer buyers the chance to purchase sites with resource consented development proposals already in place.

One of the properties - 1A Burton Street - has resource consent for high-rise residential developments, while the other two, on the corner of Pollen Street and Vinegar Lane & 252-258 Great North Road, have resource consent for high-rise residential developments with a ground-floor commercial component.
All three are included in the Barfootand Thompson Commercial Insite portfolio and are being marketed for individual sale by negotiation by Barfoot and Thompson agents Marty Roestenburg and Reese Barragar.

Roestenburg says: “These properties would be ideal projects for developers seeking to capitalise on Auckland's need for high-quality residential accommodation and the Unitary Plan’s push for higher-density development around key suburban commercial hubs.

“All are located in extremely popular central fringe suburbs, and are well served by retail and hospitality businesses. There is a strong demand for premium entry-point accommodation in these suburbs, which together with the increasing shift towards apartment living, make them solid development opportunities for experienced hands.”

On offer at 29 Pollen Street, Ponsonby, is a 424sq m fee simple site with resource and building consents for a five-level development comprising 11 apartments and one commercial unit on the ground floor. The apartment units are a mixture of two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, and the building area is around 1,672sq m.
Roestenburg says: “The plans are well advanced on this, the vendor has done the numbers on the development and the reserve contribution has already been paid. So that takes away some of the question marks, and gives us more full stops.”

The site on offer is currently a gravel carpark, “so there’s no demolition needed - buyers can start work immediately”.

Roestenburg adds that the vendor has purchased 5 car parks and leased 10 car parks from the neighbouring supermarket, to ensure almost adequate parking, increasingly rare in the neighbourhood.

Architects FORMiS have delivered upscale designs for the apartments, in keeping with the style of the rest of the Vinegar Lane precinct. Similar ground floor commercial units in the area have been used for hospitality or office space.

Roestenburg says the 1,002sq m fee simple site on offer at 252-258 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, has resource consent for a six-level development comprising 37 apartments, ranging from studios to three-beds, and 39 on-site car parks. The building area is around 5,500sq m.

Roestenburg says there are also draft plans to convert the development into a hotel and / or short-term accommodation, and vendor has already undertaken the preliminary work for the design change.

“There are apartment projects going up along this strip, there’s big demand on the fringe here. The fact that there’s a Bunnings down the road, and a Bentley and

Tesla dealer on the other shows you the sort of transformation the area is going through,” he says.

The 251sq m fee simple site at 1A Burton Street, Grafton, has resource consent for a six-level development comprising 40 apartment units. The land is triangular in shape, with street frontage on one side, and the building area is 1,456sq m.

Pockets of land in Grafton - which is the centre of university and hospital life in the city - rarely come to market, says Roestenburg.

The accommodation is designed as smaller, short stay units for students or hospital staff, with a bike room rather than carparking.

“It’s a small corner of land, but it shows what density you can get under the unitary plan. It is meeting the big demand for accommodation here,” he says.

Also on offer in the Commercial Insite portfolio is a three level mixed-use building in Auckland CBD. The property at 222 Hobson St is being sold with vacant possession or with a lease back to vendor.

It is being marketed for sale by tender, closing at 2pm, August 15, by Barfoot and Thompson sales agents Rex Fowler and Wayne Muir.

Fowler says: “The freehold site near Sky City and the soon to be completed International Convention Centre offers potential buyers an opportunity to invest, occupy or substantially develop.

“The building is currently owner-occupied. The ground floor is home to a high-end art gallery and cafe with a modern fit-out. Above it is a resource consented apartment, with a large living area, open plan kitchen and four bedrooms.”

Fowler says the basement level offers “ample” storage areas and car parking and is accessed via a ramp off Hobson Street.