‘Butcher’s block’ under the hammer
A well-known block of village shops in Auckland’s sought-after Westmere is for sale by auction, the first time it has been available for purchase in more than 70 years.
The high-profile property at 127-131 West End Rd is tenanted by the wellregarded Westmere Butchery — known for its award-winning sausages — along with a neighbourhood cafe and fish and chip shop.
It occupies a 741sq m freehold site that is ideal for future retail and residential redevelopment, with Neighbourhood Centre zoning and potentially stunning harbour views.
Colliers International investment sales brokers Kris Ongley and Jonathan Lynch will take the property to auction at 11am on Wednesday 10 October, unless sold earlier.
Ongley says this is a chance to acquire a multi-tenanted city fringe investment that records suggest has been in the family of the current vendors since 1941.
“Such long tenure is testament to the quality of the property and highlights just how rare it is for commercial investments in the Westmere Village to come to market.
“It is superbly located on a large, unencumbered freehold title in wellheeled Westmere, which neighbours popular Herne Bay, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn.
“It is the only property on its block with Business Neighbourhood Centre zoning, making this a rare opportunity for greater density within a predominantly residential area.
“Development of up to 13m is allowed, with permitted uses including residential, retail, office, or food and beverage offerings.
“The site’s prominent corner location, northerly aspect and potentially breathtaking views across the Waitemata Harbour makes it ripe for redevelopment in the future after expiry of the leases. In the meantime, developers and land bankers can draw on a holding income of $43,819.90 plus GST in annual rent.
“Long-term investors will also appreciate the sound fundamentals. It is fully tenanted by three popular local businesses, in one of the only retail areas within Westmere village.”
Lynch says the mostly flat site is on the corner of West End Rd and Garnett Rd. It has a combined street frontage of about 63m. Some 16m of the northwestern boundary and 47m of the northeastern boundary face the Waitemata Harbour. “From this position the site has potentially stunning harbour views if developed to the fully permitted height of about three storeys,” says Lynch.
“The Business Neighbourhood Centre zoning is intended to provide for the local convenience of the area, without adversely impacting on the surrounding neighbourhood. Largescale commercial use is discouraged, while residential use on the upper floors is expressly allowed.”
The property comprises a freestanding single-level commercial premises built in about the 1920s, with a total gross floor area of about 200sq m. The building is split roughly into thirds, with three separate retail tenancies fronting West End Rd.
The remaining land area is a rough-sealed yard for tenant car parking, upon some of which sits tenant-owned improvements.
Westmere Butchery occupies the westernmost corner at 131 West End Rd. The butchery is a long-standing tenant on a four-year lease returning $18,000 in net annual rent. There is a four-year right of renewal from October 1, this year, that the tenant has exercised, extending the total lease term to September 30, 2022.