A fully-leased, three-level office building in Grey Lynn, offering the chance to invest in a highly sought-after location with future development upside, has been placed on the market by CBRE.
14-16 Maidstone Street, Auckland, generates net passing income of around $780,000 a year from five tenants. It is being marketed by Jonathan Ogg and Warren Hutt of CBRE’s Capital Markets team and is for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on Monday November 23.
Offering fully-refurbished character office space and a 100% NBS seismic strength rating, the building is situated on freehold land between Ponsonby Road, Great North Road and Vinegar Lane in the heart of the Grey Lynn commercial centre.
In a market where demand for commercial property is extremely high and the availability of quality investment stock is low, significant interest is expected in this asset which will have broad appeal among individual investors, small syndicates and family trusts, says Ogg.
“This is a great building in a fantastic central location just a stone’s throw from Ponsonby Road and the Vinegar Lane development. Grey Lynn has become a hot location for tenants, owner occupiers and investors in recent years, as demonstrated by the very low vacancy levels and tightly-held nature of the local property market.”
Originally constructed in the 1970s with the top floor added in the early 2000s, the refurbished building has two levels of basement car parking and three high-stud, open-plan office floors providing 1,802sq m of net lettable area. A detailed seismic assessment has found the building meets 100% of new building standard, Hutt says.
“This seismic rating is unusual for a building of this age and we’re expecting this to be considered a key benefit for potential buyers, especially in the current market where there is a strong flight to quality.”
The top floor features a wrap-around deck capturing both morning and afternoon sun as well as spectacular views over the Waitākere Ranges, the Waitematā Harbour and Auckland City, says Ogg.
“The building offers stylish character space and a full-height lobby atrium which floods the interiors with natural light, as well as exposed services and a funky, slightly industrial feel to the interior design. The current owner has completed extensive upgrades including new bathrooms and a new lift, presenting the leased spaces at a high-quality, contemporary level.”
While the building makes an ideal passive investment with diversified income from the five tenants and strong underlying land value, there is the potential for the new owner to capture additional value from the site by adding additional floors, Hutt says.
“Significant flexibility is offered by the Ponsonby Height Variation to the property’s underlying Business Mixed Use zoning in the unitary plan. This zone usually restricts building heights to 18 metres, but in this case 27 metres is permitted, potentially accommodating a building of around seven floors which could include further office space, apartments or both.”
Generous car parking provision is a further benefit of the building for tenants, with 37 secure basement parks providing a high ratio of parking relative to the size of the building and other business premises in the area.
The top floor (level two) is leased to N3, which negotiates supplier discounts on behalf of thousands of businesses. N3 has occupied the space since 2013. Level one is occupied by appliance and furniture rental company Rent4Keeps, as well as Progression HR. The ground floor is leased to Imagr, a retail technology start-up founded in 2017 which created the SmartCart intelligent shopping trolley. Imagr's backers include the likes of Toshiba, private equity firm Sage Capital and investor Harald McPike.
The 895sq m site offers excellent access to key arterial routes and public transport, as well as the fantastic amenities of Ponsonby Road, says Ogg.
“This has to be one of the most sought-after metropolitan locations in Auckland for businesses. There has been an enormous amount of development activity in the area in recent years and staff have ready access to the boutique shopping, dining and night life of Ponsonby Road, as well as being just five minutes from Auckland CBD,” he says.
ABOUT CBRE GROUP, INC.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2019 revenue). The company has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 530 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.
