City Boundary Greenfield Industrial Development Block Placed On The Market For Sale

A substantial block of greenfield land on the urban fringe of Hamilton city close to one of the city’s biggest infrastructure projects has been placed on the market for sale.

The rectangular-shaped six-hectare property at 162 Higgins Road is located in the industrial district of Frankton – on a demarcation belt delineating central Hamilton on one side and rural pastureland on the other.

The Frankton landholding for sale is classified rural 1A under the Waipa District Council zoning plan. Several other properties neighbouring the Higgins Road location have council resource consents for activities ranging from landfill, organic recycling, and waste disposal, through to use by transport and logistics entities.

It is expected that control for industrially operating land along the city boundary and local body demarcation line will eventually transfer from the more rural-focused Waipa District Council over to the more urban-focused Hamilton City council.

The Higgins Road site is strategically located immediately beside what has been designated as the Kahikatea Drive entry point onto the New Zealand Transport Agency’s planned Southern Links. It has dual vehicular access points – one directly off the cul-de-sac Higgins Road, and the other around the back of the site off Wickham Street.

The $100 million Southern Links motorway extension project is designed to increase connectivity between the Tamahere area south of Hamilton with the city’s western urban boundary - linking up with both State Highway 1 and State Highway 23.

The New Zealand Transport Agency forecasts the Southern Links project will increase travelling efficiency and decrease congestion for all road users – as well as making it easier for heavy goods and freight vehicles to access Hamilton city’s western fringe.

The 6,000-hectare land at 162 Higgins Road is now being marketed by sale by deadline tender through Bayleys Hamilton, with the tender process closing on December 9. Salesperson Alex ten Hove said the vendor would also look at the option of selling the property in a trio of separate two-hectare titles.

The property is situated beside the former Hynds concrete site which has recently been vacated and sold, while on the southern boundary, Waste Management is constructing a new facility on a four-hectare site previously occupied by Les Harrison Transport.

“Faced with future zoning changes from rural to industrial use and the property’s strategic location at the gateway to a potential new motorway link, the permutations of future development on this section is a virtual blank canvas,” ten Hove said.

“Higgins Road is just 500 metres from State Highway 1 – which is one of the reasons many of the current transport sector tenants have leased space within the location.

“When the Southern Links project comes to fruition, the location will be even closer to the motorway access routes feeding both north and south,” ten Hove said.

“With Hamilton’s industrial land contained predominantly within the Frankton and Te Rapa suburbs, there is a strong underlying demand for new premises within these locales.

“The western city boundary of Frankton along Higgins Road and Wickham Street has remained virtually unchanged since the 1960s. The development poised along this edge of the city will see the city expanding out into an underutilised rural hinterland.”

Warehouse, logistics and ‘big box’ businesses within the immediate vicinity of the Higgins Road site for sale include New Zealand Couriers, Gallagher, Fletcher Easysteel, Bunnings and roading contractor Higgins.

While predominantly an undeveloped greenfield site, the Higgins Road property contains a three-bedroom house which could provide holding income while necessary development consents are acquired.

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