Substantial landholding in rural industrial hub for sale

Substantial landholding in fast-emerging rural industrial hub placed on the market for sale

The biggest block of greenfield development land in a Waikato township emerging as one of the region’s foremost rural industrial hubs has been placed on the market for sale.

The 5.64-hectare rectangular site at Kerepehi in the northern Waikato is next to the Allied Faxi ice cream manufacturing plant in what was previously a mothballed dairy factory.

With dual frontage onto two roads – one of which is State Highway 2 which links the Bombay Hills south of Auckland and the Bay of Plenty - the Kerepehi greenfield site for sale has the potential to subdivided into multiple smaller parcels of land.

The substantial landholding at 116 Kerepehi Town Road has been placed on the market for sale by tender jointly through Bayleys Hamilton and Bayleys North Shore in Auckland, with the tender process closing on August 6. Bayleys Hamilton and North Shore salespeople Josh Smith, Eddie Zhong, and Daniel Keane said that with an Industrial 7A zoning classification under the Hauraki District Council plan - along with utilities at its boundary - the site had multiple development options, some of which had been explored already.

“Significant civil planning investigation work has already been undertaken for 116 Kerepehi Town Road in preparation for submitting a resource consent application for subdivision of the block. These initial plans are included in the sale offering,” Smith said.

“The current draft plans for 116 Kerepehi Town Road provide any new owner the potential to continue with the existing investigated format of 12 lots accessed off a central cul-de-sac road, or to rework the subdivision into a number of alternative configurations permittable under the industrial zoning.”

Hauraki District Council’s industrial land classification allows for an extensive range of industrial and service activities – including industrial warehousing premises, service station operations, car/caravan/boat sales yards and repair workshops, and non-retail trade-based units for occupation by plumbing, electrical and carpentry businesses.

“The land zoning would allow for the potential creation of a fuel stop on the site. The nearest petrol stations at present are to the north at Ngatea and the south at Paeroa. And with more traffic coming into Kerepehi as new tenancies emerge in the Hauraki Park industrial precinct, there is consequently more traffic,” Smith said.

“Such an option could also see ancillary businesses operating from the site – such as a convenience food outlet or vehicle repair workshop.”

Smith said development of the corner site could alternatively replicate the creation of some 23 industrial building sites on Reta Crescent – just off Kerepehi Town Road immediately opposite the location, at what is now known as Hauraki Park.

Smith said that with Kerepehi situated within 10 minutes’ drive of the much bigger townships of Thames, Paeroa and Ngatea, the 5.64-hectare greenfield block on Kerepehi Town Road delivered not only a much lower per square metre rate for any developer, but also greater accessibility to the wider Waikato, Thames Valley and Bay of Plenty hinterlands for any tenants taking on subsequent leases within what could evolve on the site.

Kerepehi was flagged for its future development opportunities by pro-business Hauraki District Council some six-years ago. The council worked with land owners to attract new businesses into the area – anchored by Allied Faxi which now employs approximately 60 staff manufacturing and exporting ice cream to China.

Sites at the neighbouring Hauraki Park industrial enclave range in size from 2,020 square metres up to 12,392 square metres – with most sold off to start-up companies and firms looking for cheap land in the famed ‘Golden Triangle’ linking Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.

Several years ago, the council invested heavily in Kerepehi – upgrading the town’s water treatment plant and potable water capacity to the tune of $9 million to support business growth and future proof developments such as the one pending at 116 Kerepehi Town Road.

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