Investment Opportunity In The Evolving Town Of Ōtaki

A prominent standalone freehold commercial property along Ōtaki’s main retail strip has been placed on the market for sale, as its owners realign their property portfolio assets.

The store at 172 Main Highway is occupied by long-standing tenant Kathmandu which has a 10-year rental track record on the site and nearly three years to run on its current lease.

Fraser Press and Paul Adams of Bayleys Wellington are marketing the property which will go to auction at Bayleys Wellington at 11am, Thursday. 18th March.

Built in the late-1980s and extensively upgraded in 2007, the property with its floor-to-ceiling glass frontage still looks modern today and is, according to Press, one of the best looking buildings in the town.

“It’s contemporary, very functional and has certainly served Kathmandu well as its outlet store – sitting within a popular retail cluster of local operators and corporate brands.

“Ōtaki has carved out a name for itself as an outlet shopping destination pulling people in from the Manawatu and greater Wellington region, along with attracting travellers passing through the town.

“There’s been significant investment in the town which has added to its retail appeal.”

Press points to the recently-built flagship Hunting and Fishing store across the road from the Kathmandu-occupied offering and the continued presence of leading brands like Icebreaker, Bendon, Taking Shape, and Amazon Skate/Surf.

“Additionally, seasoned investor and developer Nigel Ross has transformed the former Caltex site on the main road into the Ōtaki Yard artisan market,” Press said.

“Nigel has acquired a substantial commercial property portfolio around New Zealand, seeing particular value in the regions and satellite towns.

“The development of Ōtaki Yard indicates that he has confidence in the town and this in turn, boosts other operators and investors.”

The 287sqm Kathmandu-occupied building has a seismic rating of 70% new building standard and sits on 322sqm land. There is an automated sliding door entrance and a rear door giving access to one dedicated staff car park and additional parking in the large Council carpark.

The property is fully-leased to Kathmandu and returns a net income of $71,887 plus GST and outgoings.

It is in a high-profile location diagonally-opposite New World and Mobil.

Paul Adams works actively in the broader Kāpiti Coast market for Bayleys and said Elevate Ōtaki – a collaboration between community groups, business owners, cultural representatives, Kāpiti Coast District Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency – is working hard to promote Ōtaki.

“There’s a proactive move to support the diversity of the town and further champion Ōtaki as a retail destination and as a desirable place to live, work and visit,” said Adams.

“Once completed, the 13km, four-lane Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway will divert incidental traffic away from the existing main highway retail strip, however, it will streamline traffic movement for those who visit the town for its destination retail offering.

“The expressway will reduce the bottlenecks that currently exist and allow the main retail area to better serve those who are spending money there.

“The new expressway will also include a 10km shared path for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, which will further open up Ōtaki’s recreational potential.”

Adams said the well-documented northwards population drift continues as buyers chase affordability, with areas such as Ōtaki gaining traction given the (generally) less-than-one-hour travel time to the Wellington CBD.

“Quotable Value New Zealand released figures at the end of 2020 showing residential values in Ōtaki increased by 39.2% since the 2017 rating valuations round with the corresponding land values up 75.8%.

“There’s positivity in the area and commercial property-wise, there’s good value to be realised in the as yields elsewhere in the country continue to be compressed.”

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