A valuable high density development opportunity in the rapidly expanding west Auckland metropolitan centre of New Lynn has arisen with the news that a circa 1.87 hectare site that is currently home to a clothing manufacturer is now available for sale at 3094 Great North Road.
Marketed by sole agents John Schellekens and John Holmes of CBRE, the property, which is known locally as ‘the Cambridge site’ as it was originally developed for Cambridge Clothing, is for sale by way of Deadline Private Treaty, with a closing date of 4pm on 21 October 2016.
“Surrounded by superb transport infrastructure and with everything on the doorstep, 3094 Great North Road is perfectly placed to capitalise on the increasingly attractive urban lifestyle offer of New Lynn.” says John Schellekens, National Director of Structured Transactions & Advisory Services at CBRE.
“This exceptional site is earmarked for high density development and offers a range of options for developers, with scope for a master planned, mixed use project.”
Schellekens adds that as the property has a passing rental of $500,000 pa that expires in June next year, potential buyers of the site could either acquire and develop or acquire, enjoy the holding rental until June 2017 and then re-lease and hold for development in the future.
“The site and zoning offer potential for a mixed use project with potential to develop buildings up to around 20-storeys. Two indicative development massing concepts have been prepared and are presented in the site’s Information Memorandum. They reflect first a lower density, down-scaled project and second, a high density ‘high rise’ project that maximises the development envelope that has been created.
“Ultimately it will be up to prospective buyers to make the most of this valuable opportunity in New Lynn, one of Auckland’s hottest metropolitan centres right now.”
The site itself was first developed in the late 1950s for clothing manufacturer Cambridge Clothing, with operations including cutting, sewing and pressing of garments prior to dispatch to retail outlets.
Manufacturing at the site ceased in 2013, and it is now used for warehousing purposes only. While the total site area is around 1.87ha (expected area subject to a new title being issued), there is a Significant Ecological area encompassing a small stream, and this reduces the developable area down to around 1.4 to 1.5 hectares.
The main warehouse area is split into three main bays with a part mezzanine office, a workshop and lean-to/ancillary structures with a total gross floor area of around 6,500 sqm.
The site is zoned as ‘Metropolitan Centre’ under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP) – Decisions Version, and allows for a wide range of uses including accommodation, commercial services, offices, retail, entertainment facilities and some light industrial activity, together with a high level of intensity with a maximum permissible height of 72.5m (circa 20 storeys), subject to height in relation to boundary controls.
The main developable site area of around 1.4 to 1.5 hectares has a generally gentle contour: there is a 10m building setback from the edge of the stream within a significant ecological portion to the west of the site, which is maintained as an overlay under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan. This area of dense bush can also provide a pleasant outlook for development within the west of the site.
John Holmes says with a large building envelope and the ability to build up to 72.5 metres, is consistent with Council’s plan to encourage higher density quality housing at an accessible price point in Auckland’s town centres, particularly on sites close to transport infrastructure.
“New Lynn has experienced phenomenal investor interest in recent years with the suburb and the added connectivity of its town centre making it an extremely attractive new city-fringe location.
“This has been largely driven by Council’s urban plan for New Lynn, stating that by 2030 it will be a unique, sustainable, urban place centred on a world-class transit interchange capable of attracting and maintaining a population of 20,000 residents and 14,000 workers. The current commute time via rail from New Lynn to the CBD of around 33 minutes and this is expected to drop to around 26 minutes once the City Rail Link project is completed in around 2020.
“The plan has already seen significant support by the private, local and central government sectors which began in 2010 with the completion of New Lynn's $190 million rail trench and transport interchange.”
This was followed by the first stage of Merchant Quarter on the site adjoining the New Lynn Railway Station delivered through a partnership of Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Infratil Limited. The cleverly designed Transit Orientated Development proving to be a huge attractor for a range of retailers, commercial, residential and hospitality providers since.
This renewed focus has been capped off recently by the new hospitality precinct of Brickworks, part of Kiwi Property Group’s recent refurbishment of LynnMall. With its character laneway-style space and a more pedestrian-friendly ‘high street’ feel, Brickworks has gone a long way to re-defining the New Lynn town centre offering a local dining and drinking destination to ensure the immediate populous doesn’t have to head into the central city.
Such confidence in New Lynn has further buoyed the market interest in and around the town centre with a large scale residential development now in the market a short distance from the subject site. With potential for around 1,800 dwellings and 5,000 people, the first stage of this development, the ‘West Edge’ was recently brought to the market and it is understood that presales have been strong.
Given 3094 Great North Road’s prime location, Holmes says that the site is set to benefit from the success of the New Lynn regeneration.
“The extremely well-connected site is located in central New Lynn, on the inner western fringe of the core retail heart. It fronts Great North Road on the western corner of Clark Street and features its own separate access road, Cambridge Terrace, connected to Clark Street via a traffic light controlled intersection.”
“Convenience is everything when it comes to 3094 Great North Road. Future residents will have the chance to frequent a string of local food and beverage outlets immediately to the east of the site along with a community centre while the New Lynn Transport Interchange (rail and bus) and Library is an easy 300 to 400m walk. LynnMall and a full range of other commercial services are available just further to the east within a 500m walk.
“With the growing popularity of cycling as a form of commute, future residents will also welcome the news that New Zealand Transport Agency has confirmed funding for another 15km of additional separated cycling facilities for the area,” says Holmes.
ABOUT CBRE GROUP, INC.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2015 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
