New tenant for former Mico site
A strategic Frankton building is being renovated ahead of the arrival in Hamilton of a new international trade supplier.
The 1960s building on the King St-Lake Rd corner has been bought from the Ryan Family Trust by two private Auckland investors in a deal stitched together by NAI Harcourts commercial property specialist Theo de Leeuw, and Auckland-based project manager Max Hand of Wieland Hand Associates Ltd.
The building has served a number of purposes over the years, including as an egg floor. De Leeuw said one of its features was an old-style loading dock, a feature not used so much.
‘‘Loading docks are an old idea. The whole building was built to the height of the loading dock, which allowed for easy product movement in and out of trucks,’’ de Leeuw said.
‘‘This loading dock is only marginally above road level but it takes up a lot of area which is better used for car parking. The trick was to make this building more palatable to today’s users by bringing the ground up to the floor height.
‘‘The building also had a lot of upstairs office space, which in today’s market is not necessary so that has been removed, allowing for more efficient product storage and retail space. This brings the building into the 21st century.’’
Hand was engaged to project manage, including organising the replacement of the original ‘‘Super 6’’ roof. Resource consent was obtained by Hamilton firm AP Construction, which is converting a previously unusable building into two modern trade supply units. The whole deal is valued at around $3 million.
The identity of the trade supplier is under wraps ahead of an official launch, but is expected to add to local choice and competition. It will take up one 900sqm unit. Another 560sqm unit remains available.
Industrial vacancy rates across the city are the lowest they have been in nearly three decades, de Leeuw said.
‘‘We have more demand for industrial and commercial space than we can fill; lots of owneroccupiers taking advantage of low interest rates. Tenants are left with very little choice. This shows a lot of confidence.
‘‘Our first commercial auction since the Covid lockdown gave me a lot of faith in the state of the market. It is an extremely good time to buy or sell. People are looking for property. Interest rates are at historical lows and are likely to stay there,’’ de Leeuw said.
‘‘The beauty of Hamilton is that its economy is supported by a wide range of business activity.
‘‘It is not affected the way places like Auckland and Wellington are. We have a good, steady agricultural base and a steady manufacturing and construction sector.’’