Rare large-scale development site in Tauranga
An underdeveloped commercial site in the Tauranga suburb of Welcome Bay provides buyers with the opportunity to acquire a landholding of significant scale in one of the country’s fastest-growing cities.
260 Welcome Bay Rd is an 8106sq m Commercial-zoned freehold site which provides for uses including office, retail, medical, aged care, residential and light industrial.
With 170m of street frontage the property is highly visible, and the elevated site has excellent development characteristics. It is next to a popular shopping centre that is home to a Four Square, service station, pharmacy, laundromat and eateries.
The site has been used for several decades by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand as a place of worship and community facility.
Existing buildings comprise a church, which includes meeting rooms and a kitchen, and a garage totalling approximately 400sq m.
Colliers brokers Simon Clark, Rich Davidson, and Josh Coburn have been appointed to market the site for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on Thursday 14 July, unless sold prior.
Clark says the site presents a significant opportunity for a major project given the flexible nature of the zoning. “The new owner will be presented with a range of options for this large site, and they may choose to utilise the existing buildings by repurposing them for their own usage, while they plan for the future.
“Alternatively, they have the chance to clear the entire site and start from scratch and a medium or high-density residential project would draw strong interest within the community given the need for further housing stock in Tauranga.
“There is also scope for a prominent commercial offering that would no doubt be popular due to the growth in the area.”
Davidson says the Bay of Plenty’s growth will create strong demand for this site. “Data from Infometrics shows the Tauranga city population grew by 2 per cent in 2021, compared to the national growth figure of 0.6 per cent as people have continued to flock to the region. This has contributed to higher sales volumes in the commercial and industrial sector.”
Coburn says while there is ongoing commentary around the state of the development land market, the demand for quality sites has remained remarkably resilient. “Sites with sound development fundamentals such as rarity, outlook, scale, and location are performing strongly despite economic headwinds facing the market.”