A former service station and adjoining shed complex strategically located less than 1km from what is set to become the biggest corporate-backed commercial and residential building project in New Zealand has been placed on the market.
The 4047sq m property at Ohinewai, 5km north of Huntly in North Waikato, sits just a short distance from the land earmarked for the 176ha Sleepyhead estate being built by the mattress and bed manufacturer.
Plans for the $1.2 billion Sleepyhead estate encompass a massive warehousing and manufacturing complex adjacent to some 1100 new homes sustaining a predicted community of 3000 people to be built over a 10-year phased project.
Last year independent planning commissioners appointed by Waikato District Council approved the application by Sleepyhead subsidiary Ambury Properties to rezone its Ohinewai landholding from a rural classification to three mixed-use designations specific to the locale.
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The council’s new Ohinewai Zone encompasses three defined land usage parameters – a residential precinct, a business precinct, and an industrial precinct - allowing for the establishment of the full gamut of properties required to sustain Sleepyhead’s manufacturing operations and township masterplan.
The planning commissioners noted that Sleepyhead’s development would bring “significant economic, social and employment benefits to an area where there is limited job opportunities and affordable housing choices.”
A short distance away on the corner of Ohinewai North Road and Tahuna Road – immediately beside Ohinewai Hall – is a strategically-located property for sale. The site is designated as business zoning under the Waikato District Council plan.
The freehold land and buildings at 8 Ohinewai North Road are being jointly marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Hamilton and Bayleys Auckland, with the tender process closing on March 17.
Salespeople Alex ten Hove, Luke ten Hove and James Hill said existing building infrastructure on the site comprised a small dated residential dwelling, a trio of adjoining garage-style corrugated iron storage sheds, and a former service station building.
The Ohinewai North Road property sits just a few hundred metres from both the northern and southern on-ramps to SH1/Waikato Expressway.
The Sleepyhead estate is only a few hundred metres further away on the other side of the motorway and is accessible by an established overbridge.
“This pocket of the North Waikato is identified in the region’s spatial plan as part of the main growth corridor between Auckland and Hamilton, being in the centre of the Golden Triangle,” said Alex ten Hove.
“It’s all about the future with this property. The area is about to go through a tremendous growth phase and this property - with its flat topography, size, shape, location and access points off both Tahuna Road and Ohinewai North Road – will suit a large business wanting to locate part-way between Auckland and Hamilton as well as service the soon fast-growing immediate area.”
James Hill also sees great commercial potential for the property, which he says: “could also include a multi-retail precinct to serve commuters, as well as residents not just locally, but also from nearby Te Kauwhata, Huntly and the rural community.”
“It’s certainly an exciting property to be marketing as we sit on the verge of something very big in the area,” Hill added.
The site currently has a residential tenant, as well as two trucking companies with leases through to May.
- Article supplied by Bayleys
