Town centre retail block with views for sale
The land and building comprising a block of retail shops adjacent to a council-built scenic viewing platform in the middle of a major suburban public transport hub have been placed on the market for sale.
The premises at 43-47 Birkenhead Ave sit immediately beside the specially-created scenic viewing platform delivering unobstructed views of a council-owned forest reserve and park, with a vista of Auckland city and the inner harbour in the background.
Zoned business town centre under the Auckland Council Plan, the block also sits immediately across the road from the 14,000sq m Highbury Mall, which has plans for mid-rise apartment towers up to 12 storeys high to be built around a new and vastly bigger shopping centre.
Birkenhead town centre is directly in the middle of the route between Birkenhead Bus Company’s depot and the central city, while the suburb also has a regular ferry timetable.
The rectangular-shaped freehold property is now being marketed for sale at auction on April 28 by Bayleys North Shore.
Salespeople Daniel Henderson, Michael Nees and Ranjan Unka said the long-term value of the site lay in its future development potential. “Central Birkenhead has undergone significant residential intensification over the past six years – with multiple new and substantial apartment blocks being built just a few hundred metres away on Rawene Rd,” said Henderson.
“The business town centre zoning within the Auckland Council Plan has a 21m building height limit which has unlocked the potential for this property as a mixed-used development site that will benefit not only from its strategic town centre location but also its unobstructed hilltop location.
“Provisions under the zoning enable blocks of between four and eight storeys in height.
“Long-term, the height scope for this property will facilitate increased intensification and more efficient use of the existing space – including new retail units at street level, with residential units on the upper floors.”
The property is surrounded by multiple eateries, cafes and neighbourhood-focused retailers. Combined in its current configuration, the three tenancies operate from 265sq m of floor space on 541sq m of ridge-top land and generate a passing rental of $52,619 a year.