Huge Wynyard site goes to market
The largest remaining parcel of commercial and residential development land in the highly sought-after Wynyard Quarter is being offered to the market by Colliers.
Known as Wynyard 100, the property occupies a full 1.7ha block in the heart of Wynyard Quarter and offers 400m of street frontage to Gaunt St, Packenham St West and a public reserve.
Auckland’s largest bus company, NZ Bus, has occupied the massive site as its central depot for approximately 50 years.
The site has masterplan consent for a multimilliondollar mixed-use development by its current owners Infratil, with the first stage already completed.
The 17,142sq m site is home to the new 154-room, eight-level Travelodge Wynyard Quarter hotel, the 385-vehicle purpose-built Wynyard carpark building and a 2164sq m commercial and retail offering that includes a Countdown Metro supermarket, the head office of NZ Bus and a range of other outlets.
The CBD depot of NZ Bus makes up the balance of the site.
The property is being sold as a single offering. The existing Integrated Development Plan consent approved by Auckland Council envisages additional commercial development of approximately 60,000sq m of gross floor area across the site, making this an outstanding long-term growth proposition.
The site offers connectivity to Auckland’s motorway network via nearby Fanshawe St, while the Britomart Transport Centre is in walking distance and numerous bus routes are easily accessible.
Colliers directors Jason Seymour, Richard Kirke, Dean Humphries, and Kris Ongley have been exclusively appointed to market the property for sale by expression of interest lodged before 4pm on Thursday 7 July.
Seymour says this is one of the most impressive value-add opportunities to be presented to the open market this year and offers buyers the opportunity to control the better part of a whole city block.
“The current buildings on the site are all new and underpin this exceptional purchasing opportunity by providing a strong holding return that will have serious appeal among purchasers recognising the untapped medium-to-long term potential once NZ Bus’s lease expires on the remainder of the land,” Seymour says.
“Stage 1, which includes the hotel, car park, and commercial area, was completed in 2020 and future development is subject to the NZ Bus lease expiring in 2035.
“But there is a provision for a partial lease surrender to enable earlier development on approximately 4500sq m of the site.
“This provides flexibility for buyers who may wish to pursue a more immediate development in a prime location that is littered with New Zealand’s brightest and largest corporations, award-wining architectural masterpieces and prestigious residential, hotel and hospitality addresses.”
The commercial offering, on the ground floor of the Travelodge, is home to a 738sq m Countdown Metro Supermarket and 605sq m of retail space spread across five tenancies together with 815sq m of commercial space leased to NZ Bus as their head office.
The purpose-built carpark, located directly behind the hotel, is expertly managed by Cooper & Company in an area where demand is expected to grow in the coming years as development and intensification of the wider Wynyard Quarter precinct continues.
Kirke says the diverse revenue streams will be highly attractive for buyers given the occupants’ longterm commitment to the site, anchored by the lease to NZ Bus that provides inflation-linked rental growth until 2035.
“A large majority of Auckland’s prime waterfront land is leasehold but this site has notable advantages with the ground rent being fully recovered through the existing tenancies and the rent reviews conducted every 21 years upon renewal in perpetuity, providing long-term security and certainty for purchasers.
“With the next ground rent review due in 2035, the new owner will be able to enjoy substantial cashflow from a strategic development landbank before planning their next moves for the site,” Kirke says.
Humphries says the Travelodge is a strategic hotel asset and one of only a few hotels located in the heart of the Wynyard Quarter precinct.
“Although only recently opened, we are already seeing the hotel perform well above its comp set with strong occupancy and revenue growth as the country continues to rebound following various outbreaks of Covid-19.
“The hotel is perfectly positioned to capture demand from the large number of corporate businesses located in the immediate area together with domestic and international leisure travellers who want to enjoy the many activities in this area.
“Occupancy rates across Auckland are on the rise as international travellers steadily return to New Zealand and there is strong growth potential in this specific property,” he says.
Ongley says the property is one of the largest remaining commercial development sites in Wynyard Quarter. “All the pieces are in place that make this a top-tier purchasing opportunity.”
The property is zoned Business–City Centre and Wynyard Precinct Sub-precinct B under the Auckland Unitary Plan.