Prime Location Fuels Investor Interest In Northland Service Station Site

The land and buildings housing a high-profile Caltex service station on a long-term lease have gone up for sale at a key town-centre location in Northland.

The freehold property for sale is positioned in the heart of Dargaville, on a corner site with wide frontage to State Highway 12, providing excellent exposure to both local and through traffic.

The premises at 1-9 Normanby Street operates a 24-hour Caltex service station with petrol and diesel pumps, LPG bottle fills, a shop and touchless car wash.

The service station has occupied the site for over 20 years, and has approximately eight years to run on the current lease term. Further rights of renewal, if exercised, would extend this through to 2047.

The property currently generates net rental income of $158,326 plus outgoings and GST per annum, on a lease that incorporates two-yearly CPI increases and a review to market on renewal.

The land and buildings at 1-9 Normanby Street, Dargaville, are now being marketed for sale by way of a tender closing at 4pm on Wednesday 28 July (unless sold prior), through Bayleys Auckland Central and Bayleys Whangarei.

Salespeople Damien Bullick, Alan Haydock and John Haselden said the approximately 3,412-square metre landholding contained buildings with a total floor area of some 365 square metres, excluding the forecourt canopy.

Originally constructed in the 1990s, the service station today encompassed a 290-square metre retail building, plus a car wash structure and storage and plant buildings, Mr Bullick said.

It was positioned at the southern end of Dargaville’s main retail strip, with excellent access via four entry and exit points from Normanby and Victoria streets.

“The property enjoys superb exposure thanks to its more than 100 metres of street frontage, around half of this being along Normanby Street which doubles as State Highway 12 at this location,” said Mr Bullick.

The Normanby Street site is zoned Business – Commercial by Kaipara District Council. This zone incorporates the district’s existing commercial areas, and generally supports shops, offices and retail activities with a building height of up to 12 metres.

“The service station’s 24/7 operation helps to maximise the tenant’s revenue by catering to a considerable population of shift workers employed in nearby commercial and industrial precincts,” Mr Haydock said.

Located about 55 kilometres southwest of Whangarei and a bit over two hours north of Auckland, Dargaville’s local economy is supported by surrounding dairy, sheep and beef farms, plus an extensive plantation forest industry.

Mr Haselden said the town was also a gateway to popular visitor attractions including Baylys Beach, Kai Iwi Lakes and Waipoua Forest, home of Tāne Mahuta, New Zealand’s largest kauri tree. This ensured a regular flow of traffic through Dargaville, which bolstered the local catchment for businesses based in the town.

“Opportunities to purchase properties housing big-brand provincial service stations are relatively rare. With an established tenant in place on a long-term lease, the Dargaville offering is likely to attract keen interest from commercial property investors seeking a genuine bottom-drawer investment,” Mr Haydock said.

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