Investors eye up huge building suppliers warehouse premises

Climbing the property ladder - investors eye up huge building suppliers warehouse premises up for sale

A substantial industrial property landholding which houses the regional branch of a nationally-branded building supplies company and a large construction services company has been placed on the market for sale.

The 14,032-square metre property located in the Napier suburb of Onekawa contains warehousing and office premises jointly occupied by leading New Zealand building supplies firm Carters, alongside residential and commercial property scaffolding business Rocket Scaffolding.

The flat, generally rectangular-shaped property – sitting on the corner of Austin Street, and Dunlop Street in an area zoned Main Industrial under the Napier City Council Plan - comprises portions of both freehold and perpetual leasehold land.

Carters occupies some 9,788 square metres of the block. Buildings on Carters’ portion of the block include 785 square metres of high-stud retail premises, 843 square metres of high-stud drive-through warehousing space with multiple four-metre high roller door entry/exit points, 214 square metres under canopy, a 491-square metre rear storage facility, and first floor offices with staff amenities totaling 262 square metres. Many of the buildings have been purpose-built over the years for Carters’ specific operating demands.

In addition, Carters occupies two lean-to style timber storage warehouses with offices spread across a total of 501 square metres. Carters’ multiple retailing and administration activities are sustained by 35 customer car parks at the location. Carters has been trading from the Austin Street/Dunlop Street location in Napier since the 1990s, and prior to that under the brand Robert Holt & Sons.

Meanwhile, height access services company Rockit Scaffolding occupies approximately 4,000 square metres of the greater property in what was previously a sawmill operation. Buildings on Rockit’s portion of the land include a 1,165-square metre workshop, 170 square metres of mixed style storage, 60 square metres of office space, and 43 square metres of mezzanine-level staff amenities.

The land and buildings at 16 Austin Street, and 41 Dunlop Street are now being marketed for sale at auction on September 17 through Bayleys Napier. Salesperson Mark Evans said the dual-access location contained a mix of both freehold and predominantly leasehold land on a main arterial route connecting Onekawa with the large format properties in Prebensen Drive, and further connecting to the industrial locale of Pandora along with Napier Port and the expressway.

The Austin Street/Dunlop Street property generates a combined net rental revenue of $339,536 plus GST per annum, net of outgoings and ground lease, with the individual tenancies comprising:
Carters Building Supplies on a current lease running through to 2028 with two further six-year rights of renewal,
and
Rocket Scaffolding on a current lease expiring next year.

“Properties of this scale with such a broad configuration of both building assets and undeveloped yard space are rare in Onekawa and the rental income will appeal to investors,” said Evans.

“The corner location brings huge traffic profile and exposure for Carters, and also brings with it the benefit of dual vehicle entry points for customers. That rationale would carry over to any new tenancies or businesses within the site.”

Evans said the split tenancy mix of the prominent Austin Street/ Dunlop Street property would deliver significant holding income while any potential development options were explored.

“The size and scale of the property opens up multiple options for any new owner. It really is a ‘blank canvas’ opportunity. For example, there is substantial undeveloped land within the block which is currently utilised as yard space, but which could be redeveloped to accommodate new warehousing or plant structures in a multitude of configurations,” he said.

“Demand for medium to large sized warehousing units in Onekawa is strong – predominantly because of the suburb’s central location and access to the region’s connecting motorway network.

“Alternatively, there is the option of developing a wider portfolio of smaller tradie-style warehousing or light manufacturing units to broaden the site’s revenue stream.”

The location’s main industrial land use zoning applies to the Napier suburbs of Onekawa, Pandora and Awatoto, and allows for a wide range of uses to be undertaken by the likes of both the industrial services and manufacturing sectors.

The Main Industrial zoning recognises their proximity to Napier Port, Napier Airport, and the region’s state highway network without impacting on residential suburbs.

Neighbouring properties in Onekawa’s Austin Street/Dunlop Road locale include numerous automotive parts retailers, a proliferation of vehicle repair and maintenance workshops, niche building products suppliers, multiple small engineering plants, and several stand-alone food and beverage supermarkets.

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