Factory site ripe for redevelopment
The former site of Waikato Valley Chocolates is up for sale.
The property is prime land for development in fast-growing northeast Hamilton.
NAI Harcourts salesman Brad Chibnall said the site, on the corner of Horsham Downs and Borman roads in Rototuna, was the only commercially-zoned land currently available in the Flagstaff/Rototuna area.
Chibnall said the zoning was part of Hamilton City Council’s Rototuna Structure Plan.
‘‘There’s more demand than there is supply for commercial premises in Rototuna and Flagstaff. All the land surrounding it is zoned as residential.’’
Under the Hamilton City Council Operative District Plan, it falls under Business Six Zone – Neighbourhood Centre and is permitted for (under restricted sizes) retail, restaurants, cafes and beverage outlets, licensed premises, childcare, healthcare and specialised training.
Discretionary activities include offices, retail, automotive fuel retailing and apartments above ground level.
The property is on three separate freehold titles, with the total land area about 7602 square metres and about 170m of road frontage. Each of the two smaller titles is a residential property, and there is also a house at the back of the factory. All three homes are rented.
It backs on to the Waikato Expressway, and is sited between the two largest developments in the region – the Ports of Auckland Inland Port and the 485-hectare Ruakura Inland Port.
‘‘These are two big projects, which are ultimately big employers over time, and this is the fastest-growing area in Hamilton,’’ Chibnall said.
Hamilton City Council’s city planning team leader, Alice Morris, said there were other businesszoned sites within the Rototuna area Structure Plan area but they were not established yet.
‘‘This is the only piece of land within the northern area of Rototuna that is.’’
Other sites include the Rototuna town centre, surrounded by Te Totara Primary, Rototuna Junior High and the Hamilton Christian schools, and in the northwest of the area, a site on the corner of Borman Rd and Hare Puke Dr.
The Horsham Downs and Borman roads site’s vendors, a partnership, bought the property as an investment 20 years ago, inheriting tenants Waikato Valley Chocolates, which manufactured and sold its products from the site until it moved recently to new premises at Horotiu.
The property has provided the vendors with a good income during their tenure, including rent from the three houses that are part of the parcel. However, they have made the decision to sell now because ‘‘it’s time to move on’’, one of the partners said.
‘‘This is a sought-after development opportunity.’’
Lynden Clement, who was brought up on a nearby farm, said the factory had long been a strong presence in his community.
His mother had moved to the area in 1918 when the Rototuna Dairy Factory was housed on the property.
‘‘The local farmers would take their milk in milk cans by horse and dray to the factory.’’
The factory, which made cheese in open vats, was a pivotal part of the community at that time.
During the wet weather in winter, when the cows were dry, the farmers left their drays at the factory because the sand-finished road was impassable.
The dairy factory was extended and improved over time, Clements said, until it was sold and became Cokers’ sweet factory for a number of years.