Four office floors of an Auckland city fringe mixed-use building, on a single strata title and providing holding income until January 2014, have been placed on the market for sale through Tim Lichtenstein and Tony Allsop of Colliers International.
The ground floor and levels one to three of the 11-level tower at 9A Hopetoun Street, Freemans Bay, are offered for sale by deadline private treaty closing on July 26 2012, unless sold before that date.
Although two leases are in place providing $744,500 in net annual rental income, the floors are unoccupied following the departure of the previous tenants. This provides excellent flexibility for the new owner to add value, says Lichtenstein.
“There are multiple options available here for city fringe investors, developers and owner occupiers, with the existing rental allowing the purchaser to collect an income for the next 19 months while they make plans for the future use of the property,” he says.
“The space would suit an owner occupier looking for attractively-priced office space near the CBD, or equally for investors who could re-fit and enhance the space for new tenants to take over the leases. Alternatively, the property’s residential zoning means the floors could be converted to apartments, which are likely to be in demand given Auckland’s well-publicised upcoming housing shortage.”
There is a specific increase in demand for central city and fringe accommodation, in particular central city apartments, which offer the benefits of easy access to public transport, shopping and public amenities, Lichtenstein adds.
The office market also appears to be gaining a degree of momentum, with vacancy levels down. Colliers International research indicates vacancy levels in the Auckland city fringe office market are sitting at 10.4%, down from 10.9% in March 2011.
The property
The mixed-use building was constructed in the late 1980s and is serviced by two lifts, stairwells and an internal common lobby. It features apartments on the upper levels and three levels of basement car parking, as well as the office title which provides 2842sq m of net lettable area across the four floors.
Good-sized 809sq m floor plates, excellent natural light and 25.5sq m north-facing decks on levels one, two and three enhance the well-presented interiors, Allsop says. “The property offers fantastic views over Auckland City and the Waitemata Harbour, as well as excellent shared amenities such as a tennis court and swimming pool.”
The office floors are fully fitted out for office use and each level contains kitchen and bathroom facilities. 58 car parks are on-site.
Location
9a Hopetoun Street is located between the Auckland CBD and Ponsonby, within walking distance of Ponsonby Road, Karangahape Road, Queen Street and public transport. The motorway network is also easily accessible, with on and off-ramps within 1km of the property.
“Located between Queen Street and Ponsonby Road, the building gives occupiers the benefits of a city address at a lower rental cost than the CBD,” says Allsop. “Staff will appreciate the proximity to the motorway on and offramps, as well as the on-site parking. Features like these mean this building should appeal to a wide range of future owners.”
Locations with exceptional access to Auckland’s main motorways, the city centre and surrounding suburbs rarely become available on the city fringe, he says.
“Within minutes you can be on the motorway travelling to the north, west or south. This ready access to Auckland’s suburban centres and on to regional destinations means this is a location in which properties should hold their value into the future.”
The property is on Residential 7 zoned land, which allows for design flexibility around high-density development in the city fringe, while protecting the surrounding environment from any adverse effects related to development. Activities permitted in the zone include the construction of residential units and care centre facilities, with some provision for commercial and retail uses.
The zone enjoys the most flexible site density and intensity controls of the zones, allowing one residential unit per 200sq m of gross site area, and one person per 25sq m. The zone has a maximum height restriction of 20m.
Print this article or Email to a friend