Faster motorway links, a growing population and a shortage of industrial greenfield sites are all conspiring to make Rangiora the new best thing.
The North Canterbury town is emerging as the location to watch as developers and large industrial businesses turn their gaze towards the one-time quiet achiever. Against that backdrop, the timing couldn’t be better for a new development, the Rangiora Industrial Park.
Sam Staite, Director of Industrial at Colliers Christchurch, and Investment Sales Broker Noel Gilchrist, are marketing the development.
They say there’s a real lack of freehold, unencumbered industrial land and the market is only set to get tighter.
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“The dramatic rise of the logistics and transport sector in Christchurch is putting huge pressure on bare land supplies in the city. Instead, developers and businesses are looking to Rangiora where unencumbered land is keenly sought that is large enough to accommodate the growing number of big industrial names such as Hirepool, MainPower, PGG Wrightson, Farmlands, Daniel Smith Industries, and Farm Source,” Staite says.
“There is obvious demand from owner-occupiers and investors seeking freehold parcels. The opportunity lies in the lack of available freehold sites for both small and larger format operators in the district. The Canterbury owner-occupier market has always been strong, and we see no evidence of this desire to own changing.”
Rangiora is in the heart of the progressive Waimakariri District Council catchment. Since the earthquakes the district has been on a strong growth trajectory, which hasn’t been hampered by Covid-19 or a drop in international migration. Last year, 928 new building consents were issued, compared to 582 in 2020.
In 10 years, the Council expects the area’s population to increase by another 20 per cent and then another 30 per cent in the 15 years following.
Enter Rangiora Industrial Park, the latest project by highly regarded commercial property fund managers Mainland Capital in partnership with Dunedin-based property investor Tony Clear.
Mainland has a track record of delivering quality land and building developments nationally.
“The economic strength of the Rangiora catchment combined with the lack of supply of commercial land attracted us to this opportunity,” says Blair Brown, National Development Manager at Mainland Capital.
“Working closely with Waimakariri District Council and neighbour Daniel Smith Industries has allowed us to arrive at a development plan we see as very complementary to Rangiora’s commercial precinct. We look forward to being part of the region’s ongoing success.”
Covering 13.8ha, the prestigious development comprises 35 sites ranging in size from 1,249sq m through to the largest at 9,156sq m.
Located in the mixed commercial and industrial suburb of Southbrook, the industrial park is bordered by Todds, Southern Cross and Fernside Roads with direct access onto Kingsford Smith Drive.
Fernside Road is one of the main arterials running from Flaxton Road to the town’s western residential areas where the bulk of residential growth has occurred over the past 10 years. Todds Road links the town’s main entrance road, Southbrook Road, with Fernside.
Only 400m from Rangiora Industrial Park lies the Southbrook bulk retail area housing the likes of Mitre 10 Mega, Pak ’n Save, and Plumbing World. Service retail is also nearby.
The Waimakariri economy has grown strongly over the past year, with Infometrics’ provisional GDP estimates for the year to December 2021 up by 9.7 per cent, compared to 5.5 per cent nationally. GDP growth figures are abnormally high as they are compared to 2020, which suffered a hard initial hit from Covid-19.
Gilchrist says the predicted boom in new housing in the Waimakariri District will need to be matched by infrastructure to support it.
“The increasing growth in the population of Greater North Canterbury provides ever increasing opportunity for industry and services to establish and flourish in the district.
“Canterbury’s industrial land supply is running out. With the available land now controlled by a select few, the prices across the Waimakariri District are rising quickly. Greenfield development sites are also in short supply and with demand growing, it’s becoming obvious that further price pressure is inevitable.”
Gilchrist says the new motorway network provides locals with excellent access to the Christchurch CBD and key infrastructure such as Christchurch Airport and Lyttelton Port.
- Article supplied by Colliers
