Extensive school site a rare opportunity
One of Auckland’s most exclusive private schools is selling its land and buildings in Remuera.
The St Kentigern Girls’ School property, currently valued at
$23 million, is a big chunk of land –
1.24 hectares on the northern slopes of one of Auckland’s most affluent suburbs.
The buildings included classrooms, science and technology blocks, a preschool, a two-level villa and an assembly hall.
They ranged in age from the original homestead in the centre of the site, built about 90 years ago, to the art block, constructed in 2001.
The site also had a large swimming pool with changing sheds, a tennis court and open spaces.
St Kentigern plans to shift its girls’ school for up to year 8 and preschool for girls and boys from years 3 to 4 to new purpose-built buildings within the campus of St Kentigern Boys’ School on Shore Rd in Remuera, in 2022 and early
2023 respectively.
The site was also near other private schools such as St Kentigern Boys’ School, Baradene, St Cuthbert’s, Diocesan, King’s School and Dilworth.
The challenge for a new owner is to secure a plan change from the Auckland Council to develop the high-profile site for residential dwellings, apartments or for a retirement village or private hospital.
Property marketer Colliers International said it had received strong interest from residential developers and retirement village operators, and from international parties. Colliers’ capital markets director, Blair Peterken, said it was not only rare for a school site and buildings to be put up for sale, but also for the scale of the land and buildings to become available in a premier Auckland suburb.
Peterken said residential developers were showing interest in developing medium-density housing on the site.
That could be single-level or terraced housing on the borders, and five- to six-level apartment buildings in the middle.
‘‘But whoever buys it would have to go through a plan change,’’ Peterken said.
It could be a lengthy process, but because the girls’ school was not vacating until the end of 2022 and the pre-school until early 2023, there was time available for a new owner to go through it.
Any rezoning would need to take account of the local environment, which was typified by terrace and apartment buildings, single dwellings and specialcharacter housing.
A new owner could redevelop the buildings or the whole site. It had two street frontages and included five freehold titles.
The deal could be a lease-back where a new owner leased back the land and buildings to the St Kentigern Trust Board until the new school buildings were completed, Peterken said.
Offers for the property to the owner, the St Kentigern Trust Board, are due on March 27.