Retail marketplace opens on rejuvenated Orakei site

Anchor tenant for new hospitality and retail marketplace opens on rejuvenated Orakei site

Wednesday 22 February 2017

A new hospitality and retail marketplace for Auckland’s eastern suburbs has welcomed the arrival of its anchor tenant, Farro, which opened its doors for the first time today.

Farro is the latest addition to the Orakei Bay Village marketplace in Remuera located in refurbished industrial buildings that once housed a gin distillery on a two-hectare site adjacent to the Orakei train station.

Spread out across four buildings, the marketplace will soon be home to 30 tenants including a mix of design and food retailers, a champagne and oyster bar, a craft beer bar and a variety of restaurants and eateries.

On the lower level, a gardening centre will relocate under Farro and continue to operate overlooking Hobson Bay while the front of the site facing Orakei Road is now home to an artists’ studio, gallery and event space.

Elliot Knight from developer Equinox Group says it is the opening of the Farro store in particular which spells great news for the marketplace and residents in the eastern suburbs.

“Over the past few months we’ve seen a growing number of locals discovering what’s taking shape here and enjoying the open plan and minimalist, industrial retail environment on offer. With the arrival of Farro, we have a further drawcard with their superb range of artisan foods and the fantastic service that Farro stores are known for.”

Janene Draper from Farro says she’s really excited about the venue having looked at the Orakei Bay Village site as a possible store location nearly ten years ago.

“It is in a fabulous catchment area for us, located in a prime spot on a number of access routes for people in the eastern suburbs and Remuera. The recent works have created a beautiful fit out and we love the old warehouse feel which has come up really well.”

“Our commitment to providing a gateway for artisan product suppliers while still being a complete one stop shop for all ingredients will be offered in this new store, along with the addition of a new commercial kitchen which means we can provide customers with a lot more meal to go solutions.”

Mr Knight says the development is the perfect step towards making Orakei Bay Village a destination in its own right and a chance to breathe new life into the 50-year-old industrial buildings located there.

“With its unrivalled views over Judges and Mechanics Bay to the CBD and Auckland Harbour, this is a stunning site and holds so much potential as a great example of the new Auckland under the Unitary Plan – well designed retail and future residential around a transport node, close to the CBD. Orakei Bay Village is the first step to unleash this potential and I’m confident anyone that visits will see first-hand what makes it so great.”

Grant Unsworth from CBRE says it’s pleased to have been able to play a role in contributing to the success of Orakei Bay Village by helping securing key tenants for the marketplace.

“We’re proud to be involved with a development of this quality in an area historically been underserved by good quality retail and design offerings. Orakei Bay Village brings a fresh take on open plan shopping environments, and with the brands and eateries now present there, it’s destined to be exactly the sort of thriving, lively space that the area has long been waiting for.”

With a handful of stores to open over the coming weeks including Brothers Beer and new eatery & by Melba Group, Orakei Bay Village, is expected to be fully tenanted by the end of March.

See video of Orakei Bay Village at https://youtu.be/ogGpnuuM0Uw or for further details including a full tenant list go to www.obv.co.nz

ENDS

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