A vacant premises once used as a Pizza Hut restaurant on Auckland’s North Shore and a three-level building in retail hotspot Newmarket are among a selection of 20 properties listed as “exciting opportunities for 2020” by real estate company Barfoot & Thompson.
The properties include five for sale by deadline private treaty, two for auction, two for tender, nine for sale by negotiation, and two with a nominated asking price.
This marks the fifth consecutive year Barfoot & Thompson commercial has undertaken their ‘First of the Year’ portfolios, and commercial manager John Urlich believes the consistency of the last five years will remain a hallmark this year.
“The fundamentals remain strong and we are of the opinion that this year will be a good one for the commercial market,” says Urlich.
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“It is a low yield, low interest rate environment now and each year ‘consistency’ itself is the one constant that has not changed.
“Prudent investors that can access historically low finance rates would be wise to consider the balance of their portfolio. The prospects for growth going forward, particularly in Auckland, are good.
“We are coming off a record quarter and, while leasing activity, business sales and property management remain a focus for the firm this year, this portfolio represents a selection of medium-sized properties that we believe would suit a range of buyers”.
One of the featured ‘First 20’ properties is a vacant building at 50 Northcote Rd, Northcote. Gary Seekup, along with colleague Bruce Jiao, of Barfoot & Thompson’s North Shore commercial office, is marketing the property for sale by tender closing at 4pm on Thursday, February 20.
“The property is close to the northern motorway interchange, public transport and Takapuna commercial centre,” says Seekup.
“The inter-connecting road network allows easy access to the Wairau Valley commercial precinct and the many other adjacent residential catchments.”
On the market: Units at 20 Weka Street, Otahuhu.
The property sits on a freehold rectangular site of 1849sq m, which includes about 39 dedicated car parks and a 30.6m road frontage. It benefits from the average daily traffic count of 25,000 vehicles.
The improvements comprise a single storey building of about 220sq m built in the 1970s as part of the Pizza Hut chain.
Pizza Hut ceased trading in the mid 2000’s. The building has until recently been used as a restaurant and is now being offered for sale with vacant possession.
The structure and external walls comprise a mix of concrete and masonry and it includes concrete foundations, concrete floors, timber and plasterboard internal walls, aluminium joinery and a pressed steel roof.
“The property is located in the Business-Mixed Use zone under the Auckland Unitary Plan, providing for residential activity as well as smaller scale commercial activity.” says Seekup.
Back across the bridge in Newmarket, another property, described as a “prime retail investment”, in the portfolio is at 188-192 Broadway.
“It’s a three-level standalone property with development potential in a busy retail precinct comprising a mixture of retail and office,” says Cam Paterson, who is marketing it with colleague Andrew Clark.
“Located in the heart of Newmarket, the property benefits from large volumes of pedestrian foot traffic as well as major public and private development projects, such as Westfield’s extension of 277, making this one of Auckland’s premier retail destinations,” says Paterson.
“As a major commercial and retail hub, Newmarket enjoys excellent levels of accessibility and interconnectivity to the rest of the Auckland region.”
The building has a total gross floor area of 535.02sq m, comprising 164sq m of storage basement divided into two areas and accessed via the common stairwell, 190.92sq m of ground floor retail split between two retail tenancies, plus the first floor office of 180.10sq m that has been partitioned into three separate tenancies.
“The exterior construction consists of concrete foundation and brick veneer walls with a part plaster finish. The internal walls incorporate both timber and metal joinery and the roof which is .55 custom orb zincalume, was replaced in August 2006,” says Paterson.
“The property is fully leased and occupied by international retail brands 2XU and Ecco Shoes on the ground floor, two separate office tenancies on the first floor, and a basement tenancy, and currently returns a total net income of $285,294 per annum plus GST.”
The land is zoned Business-Metropolitan Centre under the Auckland Unitary Plan which provides for activities including commercial, leisure, high density residential, tourist, cultural, community and civic services.
Sitting on a 230sq m freehold site, the property has 11.3m of frontage on to Broadway. “This type of opportunity to secure a standalone retail property in the heart of Broadway is exceptionally rare,” says Paterson.
The portfolio includes retail opportunities on Broadway in Newmarket.
In the heart of the Otahuhu industrial precinct is another property in the First 20. It’s at 20 Weka St and for sale by deadline private treaty closing 4pm Thursday, February 27.
The property is being marketed by Duncan Bell of Barfoot & Thompson’s South Auckland commercial office with colleague Wilmon Fernandes.
“The buildings were completed in the 1970s and comprise 13 units on a single freehold title,” says Bell “The property benefits from having two access points via Weka St and Chelsea Ave.”
The units offer desirable industrial specs with low office to warehouse ratios that have stud heights between 6m and 10m at the apex. Construction is of concrete foundations, concrete block walls, internal plasterboard, aluminium joinery and EPI clad rubber membrane roofing.
All 13 units are leased by eight tenants, international and domestic. The leases range from short term to long term and generate annual income of $371,735 plus GST.
The 9789sq m site housing the units, which have a combined gross floor area of 5572sq m, is zoned Business-Light Industry.
Bell says that Auckland continues to gain momentum with the Unitary Plan providing for greater density.
“As a result, Otahuhu is experiencing a strong rejuvenation which includes developments such as Savill Dr. These capital investments with further development within Otahuhu will increase catchments and provide future opportunity for well positioned properties.”
Other properties include leased properties at 42 Atkinson Ave, Otahuhu, 69 Lake Rd, Devonport, and 292 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Owner occupiers are best served by properties at 70 Sale St, Auckland Central, 31 Esplanade Rd, Mt Eden, and 36 East St, Papakura. The net lettable areas range from 20sq m to 5572sq m.
