High profile city-fringe investment property for sale with development potential
A prime corner site piece of land directly opposite Auckland Hospital and just a short walking distance from the city’s
university precinct has been placed on the market for sale.
The 1068 square metre site on the corner of Park Road and Grafton Road is located on the south-eastern side of Grafton
Bridge across from the hub of Auckland University’s campus and directly opposite the main entrance to Auckland Hospital.
At present, the generally rectangular block of freehold north-westerly facing land houses a character three storey
building comprising a mix of residential and retail tenancies.
The land – zoned business local centre – and buildings at 1 – 9 Park Road are being marketed for sale by tender through
Bayleys Auckland, with tenders closing at 4pm on March 27. The property is being sold as part of a deceased estate and
will not be sold prior to the tender closing date.
Auckland Council’s business local centre zoning for the corner site provides for the ‘convenience’ needs of surrounding
residential areas – sustaining retail operations, commercial and office premises, food and beverage venues, and small
supermarkets on the lower levels.
Bayleys Auckland salespeople Mike Adams, Phil Haydock and Angela Yang said the property had strong and diverse revenue
streams that would provide a new owner with a holding income while they planned the property’s future.
In their current format, the multiple tenancies within the Park Road block were forecast to return $433,103 in the year
ending March 30, 2018 – with $327,340 gross coming from the residential component, and $105,763 net coming from the
commercial component.
The two upper levels of the property comprise 19 residential tenancies - consisting of studio, one, and two-bedroom
flats rented for between $290 and $450 per week.
All are on periodic lease terms. The flats each have their own kitchen and bathroom facilities and have access to a
shared communal laundry housed in a small stand-alone building at the rear of the property.
Meanwhile, the complimentary street-level retail tenancies consist of:
• The Jewel of India leasing two sites – one for its restaurant operation, and a sub-lease to a café business –
which has a final potential lease expiry of 2020 if the renewal option is exercised
• A barber’s shop which has a final potential lease expiry of 2024 if all renewal options are exercised
and
• Café operator Café Karadenz which has a final potential lease expiry of 2020 if all renewal options are
exercised.
Mr Adams said that a new building on the Park Road/Grafton Road corner would most likely make more efficient use of the
available space by increasing the residential floorplate by another level.
“Provisions under the business local centre zoning allow for the construction of buildings up to four storeys high -
with a residential component on the upper levels,” Mr Adams said.
“Additionally, with the right visionary design, there is an easily identifiable opportunity to further increase the
available land use footprint by reconfiguring the existing car park layout to a more efficient configuration, or
potentially adding a second level of car parking.”
Ms Yang said the property’s location within the Auckland Grammar school zone created a broad target market for tenants –
including medical staff, university students, and professionals working in both the CBD and Newmarket.
“As one of Auckland’s biggest single-site employers, Auckland Hospital’s expansive catalogue of wings and blocks was an
automatic cornerstone factor influencing any future low-rise development on the Park Road/Grafton Road apex,” she said.
“With Auckland Hospital directly across the road, any residential development on the site could expect to derive a high
degree of tenant interest from medical staff working in the surgical, patient recovery or administrative sectors –
either from an owner/occupier perspective or from an investment standpoint.”
Mr Haydock said: “Additionally, the property’s proximity to Auckland University provides another redevelopment option
for this site as privately-operated halls of residence.
“The convenience factor of dwellings in this location is further extended across the social spectrum of tenants – with
the busy and eclectic Karangahape Road and upper Queen Street hospitality precincts just a short walk away,” he said.
“In addition to sustain the day-to-day turnover of the street-level retail tenancies, Auckland Hospital is visited by
thousands of people every day en-route to, or coming from, visiting sick friends and relatives. This constant catchment
delivers considerable foot traffic past the front doors of the foodservice and retail sites.”
This prime corner site piece of land directly opposite Auckland Hospital and overlooking the city’s central business
district fringe has been placed on the market for sale.