New Tuakau Industrial Subdivision Offers Golden Opportunity

A new freehold industrial land subdivision near the border of Auckland and the Waikato will provide much needed additional business development land in a region struggling to keep pace with the demand for new industrial premises.

River Hills Industrial Park subdivision

The River Hills Industrial Park subdivision, located in a high-profile corner position on the outskirts of Tuakau and comprising over 30 hectares of industrial zoned land, is offering options for business occupiers, developers and investors.

The current subdivision scheme provides for 14 fully serviced land lots ranging in size from 3,300sqm to 3.25ha or a combination of any of these up to 31ha. The subdivision will be undertaken by Conrad Properties Ltd, best known as one of New Zealand’s largest apartment developers, with over $5 billion worth of projects under its belt, but which has also recently established an industrial division.

Bayleys South Auckland senior broker Ben Bayley says the subdivision will provide an important new source of industrial land at an affordable price in a location that is well positioned to service not only the Auckland market but also the other key ‘Golden Triangle’ cities of Hamilton and Tauranga.

“The acute shortage and cost of industrial land available for purchase in Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga has been well documented. The River Hills Industrial Park offers an attractive alternative, with the freehold fully serviced sites being initially priced at under $700 a square metre and titles anticipated to be available in the last quarter of 2022.”

Bayleys Real Estate has been appointed sole agents for the River Hills subdivision with Ben Bayley marketing the sites in conjunction with Bayleys South Auckland colleague Shane Snijder and Bayleys’ national industrial and logistics director Scott Campbell.

“Because it’s a substantial, largely square and level greenfields site, and the subdivision is at the master planning stage, there is considerable flexibility to adjust lot sizes to match user requirements and to combine them for businesses seeking large footprint premises or big yard areas,” says Campbell.

“We’ve been impressed with the thought and detail that Conrad has put into planning and designing a quality, highly functional subdivision. It will be able to support a wide range of industrial and logistics users, including warehouses and distribution centres, cold chain temperature-controlled warehouses and data centres.

“Subject to obtaining the necessary council consents, there will be 22 metre wide roading within the subdivision to enable B Train truck access which will enhance its appeal for larger logistics users.”

Conrad Industrial Properties’ New Zealand operations are headed by Simon Laird who has more than 30 years’ experience in the design and development of logistics and supply chain facilities and infrastructure in more than 12 countries for clients that include FedEx and DHL.

He says the company’s first New Zealand industrial developments have involved the sell down of 169 industrial units at 10-12 Harrison Road, Mt Wellington and 51 office, showroom and warehouse units at 3 Pacific Rise, opposite the Sylvia Park shopping centre, with both these projects currently under construction. A further 51 warehouse units in Matakana are also being marketed.

“Encouraged by the success of these initial projects, we then looked for an area in which to undertake a large-scale industrial development. We identified the Pukekohe Valley area between Pukekohe and Pokeno as undersupplied with distribution facilities, given that between 20,000 to 30,000 containers move in and out of the area a year,” Laird says.

“Most of the designated industrial land in Pukekohe and Pokeno has already been developed but this large block of land in Tuakau which has been rezoned for industrial use offered an exciting opportunity. It will provide a range of options from simply purchasing fully serviced, freehold industrial land to businesses either owning or leasing purpose-built, state-of-the-art industrial premises. We also have the expertise to engineer an integrated design-build solution to meet all their facilities and automation requirements.

“We will be looking to partner with other developers and builders as well to create a modern industrial park with strong design principles and guidelines and an underlying sustainability focus. We have aspirational plans to provide improved business infrastructure and additional employment opportunities for Tuakau.”

Laird says sustainability features encouraged for occupiers are likely to include energy-efficient design including automated LED lighting and electrical sub-metering for performance monitoring and measurement, charging points for electric vehicles, HVAC systems that utilise low emission refrigerants, low-flow water fittings together with rainwater harvesting and the use of low volatility organic compound materials and finishes

The subdivision incorporates a 1.3ha nature reserve comprising a protected forest area and Laird says consents are being sought to include a gymnasium, café and convenience shop, located next to the reserve, which will be privately owned.

Shane Snijder says River Hills Industrial Park, located on the corner of Whangarata Road and Bollard Road, will be a significant addition to Tuakau’s established industrial precinct which includes a timber mill, grain complex, a concrete contractor and a variety of other businesses located on adjacent properties.

Services to the boundary of the property include access to the town’s water supplies and there is also an electricity substation nearby. The property is currently predominantly occupied by a Kiwifruit orchard but has been zoned industrial for some time.

“This new industrial subdivision should provide a big boost for the town and its economy as has been the case with the recent business development at Pokeno which is only five minutes drive away via Whangarata Road and provides a nearby access point to State Highway One,” Snijder says. “Like Pokeno, Tuakau offers great connectivity to the Golden Triangle which generates over half of the country’s GDP.”

Approximate distances to key locations include Wiri inland port 44km, Auckland airport 48km, Ports of Auckland and Auckland CBD 60km, Hamilton CBD 76km and Tauranga CBD 165km.

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