The land and buildings sustaining one of Gisborne’s biggest primary produce storage facilities – strategically located close to the city’s port and main highway – have been placed on the market.
The enormous 1.676-hectare Cook Stores complex encompasses a mix of 10,900-square metres of cold and dry storage warehouses and canopies leased to various high-profile tenants involved in the rural production sector.
Located on the corners of Lowe Street, Peel Street, Customhouse Street, and Kahutia Street, most of the Cook Stores complex is occupied by leading New Zealand maize seed growing supplier Genetic Technologies, marketed under the Pioneer brand.
Operating since 1986, the Gisborne plant is Genetic Technologies’ maize seed production hub, supplying maize growers, livestock, and dairy farmers throughout the country.
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Also within the complex is leading New Zealand food ingredients manufacturer Cedenco, whose products, used by both the domestic and international food and beverage industries, include apples, sweet corn, tomato, squash, peas, pumpkin, kiwifruit, and onion.
Established in 1985 and with a long history on the East Coast, Cedenco also has plants in Hastings and Nelson, and supplies food manufacturers in Asia, the Middle East, China, and Australia. In 2017 Cedenco expanded its operations with the acquisition of apple processor ENZA Foods.
The third tenancy within the Cook Stores site is prominent North Island construction and building firm McMillan & Lockwood which is undertaking a substantial remediation programme on a commercial premises in Gisborne’s central business district.
The substantial Cook Stores warehousing site is now being jointly marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Gisborne and Bayleys Napier, with the tender closing on July 21.
Salespeople Mike Florance, Simon Bousfield and Kerry Geange said Cook Stores was made up of multiple separate cold store freezer facilities and a separate large format dry store.
“Cook Stores is one of Gisborne’s biggest and most significant warehousing and primary produce related logistics facilities – servicing a broad section of the region’s food growers and manufacturers,” said Florance.
“The high stud cool stores within the complex are endowed with full sprinkler systems and combined, deliver a collective floor area of approximately 4,000-square metres. Additionally, there are high stud clear-span dry stores and truck canopies totalling nearly 5,800-square metres.
“The vehicle access and exit points off three roads running around and through the Cook Stores complex enable all tenants to operate efficiently and independently of each other.
“Within the complex are also several large turning and parking areas which have been concreted or chip sealed. Part of this space is also utilised by the various tenants for outdoor storage of non-food or seed products, shipping containers, and to house portacoms.
“The property’s central city location and ease of large vehicle access is further enhanced by the property’s direct connection to State Highway 35 for traffic heading both north and south of Gisborne, with the port also less than two kilometres away for transporting product internationally.”
Combined, the L-shaped Cook Stores property generates annual net rental of $1,020,083 plus GST, with the tenancies encompassing:
-Genetic Technologies occupying cold stores seven and eight along with 614-square metres of the yard area
-Genetic Technologies occupying dry stores one and two along with the sealed yard area on Peel Street
-Cedenco Foods NZ occupying cold stores three and four with canopies
-McMillan Lockwood BOP occupying a small office space and uncovered yard area.
Bousfield said that while the property was being marketed for sale as one entity, the vendor would consider selling off just parts of the Cook Store complex – subject to negotiation. The site is zoned Outer Commercial under Gisborne District Council’s District Plan.
“The site is made up in 14 individual land titles, and under its outer commercial zoning has the potential for a wide range of future redevelopment options,” he said.
“There is a lack of competing dry storage and cold storage space such as Cook Stores in the Gisborne region. Coupled with the cost of replacement or new build assets of a similar capacity, the complex makes for a compelling asset of scale and size.”
- Article supplied by Bayleys
