A portfolio of commercial units within a new warehousing, retail and showroom hub in one of Auckland’s busiest seaside suburbs has been released to the market for sale.
The 13 commercial units within the block at 732 Beach Road in Browns Bay range in size from 188 square metres up to 334 square metres – each with different characteristics. Refurbishing and expanding the industrial building currently on site, construction of the new complex is currently underway, with completion scheduled for mid-2021.
Beach Road is Brown’s Bays light industrial and commercial precinct. In particular, the strip of Beach Road running from the intersection of Glencoe and Anzac roads, contains a concentration of automotive services businesses – such as the Browns Bay branches of vehicle testing agency VTNZ and Albany Toyota, along with parts outlet Repco, and several tyre retailers.
Now the 13 units within 732 Beach Road have been placed on the market for sale through Bayleys North Shore Commercial and Industrial. Salesperson Matt Mimmack said the freehold unit-titled warehouse, showroom and retail workspaces were being marketed for sale ‘off plan’ on a ‘first come/first served’ basis – with purchasers freely able to view the property in its current state to envisage the location’s future potential.
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The original building’s saw-tooth roofing line has been maintained. As part of the current building’s redevelopment, six apartments are also being built on the portion of the premises above the retail tenancies facing onto Beach Road.
“With much of the commercial and light industrial property stock along Beach Road dating back to the 1970s and early 1980s, there was an obvious need for new and modern premises in the vicinity,” said Mimmack.
“This fact has been identified in the Browns Bay Centre Plan compiled by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, which noted: “The environmental quality of Beach Road is poor and gives a poor impression of the town.” The development underway at 732 Beach Road for sale will be at the forefront of addressing this concern, and will be a flagship for the precinct’s regeneration in the coming decade.
“The two retail units facing directly toward Beach Road will enjoy the obvious high profile onto one of the area’s busiest streets, and would suit a foodservice operation servicing both workers in the immediate vicinity and neighbours from the area’s residential population, or alternatively a showroom user.
“Meanwhile, the rear sites within the hub would suit businesses which do not require prominent profile to passing trade, yet need to be located within their key market and catchment area in the East Coast Bays.
“Subject to availability, purchasers making a firm commitment to buying in the early stages of the 732 Beach Road complex will also have the opportunity of procuring adjoining units - with a view to integrating floor space to create bespoke larger premises required by their business.”
The 13 warehouse/showroom/retail units will be located in the middle of the 4,798 square metre Beach Road landholding – enabling vehicle access from either side on two entry points, and parking immediately outside each tenancy. Each unit will have its own staff amenities.
Mimmack said the dynamics and optimum floor space configurations for the mixed-use building at 732 Beach Road were strategically scoped out after researching Browns Bay’s warehousing inventory, and the changing needs of retailing operations.
In their current design format, the warehouse units are being constructed with multiple roller door access, while the pair of street-facing units will have full-height windows.
The property at 732 Beach Road sits within Browns Bay’s Business Improvement District (BID) which operates a town centre promotion plan encouraging a collaborative approach to marketing local businesses to residents within the wider suburb. The Browns Bay Business Association acts as the BID’s administrative body - lobbying Auckland Council on commercial activities within the zone.
“Commercial property development opportunities in Browns Bay’s main street, Clyde Road, are tightly constrained - by land values dictated because of its adjacent proximity to the waterfront, and additionally by the broad ownership base of premises,” said Mimmack.
“Conversely, Beach Road offers business and property owners an alternative location in the suburb.
“As the light industrial quadrant of Browns Bay, Beach Road and its tributaries running east towards the beach work symbiotically with the main shopping high street of Clyde Road. They are two very separate zones within the suburb and therefore are totally compatible with each other – which is one of the reasons Browns Bay works so successfully as a town centre.”
Mimmack said that as a refurbished and new build premises, units for sale within the 732 Beach Road complex could appeal to either owner-occupiers looking to relocate into more efficiently sized premises as dictated by the current economic climate, or investors looking for well-located offerings.
He said the showroom units would appeal to stand-alone retailers – such as home fittings trades firms or designer homewares and furnishings outlets seeking a niche point of difference away from the North Shore’s ‘big box’ centres.
“The units could also appeal as ‘executive man caves’ for securely storing the likes of motor vehicle collections, boats and recreational craft.
