One of Napier’s last bare industrial sites
The last piece of bare land in Napier's Onekawa industrial precinct is for sale at a time when industrial property is the darling of the commercial property sector.
Industrial property is now the most sought-after sector for developers and investors in New Zealand.
The same applies in Napier where a 3980sq m block of land at 9 Turner Place, Onekawa, is for sale by auction on July 4.
It is surrounded by some of the city's major businesses and is being marketed by Bayleys Hawke's Bay salespeople Mark Evans and Kerry Geange.
The property features in Bayleys’ latest Total Property portfolio magazine. Evans said Hawke's Bay has a limited number of medium to large industrial sites available.
“Napier has even fewer industrial land options to meet business expansion growth as a result of the strong Hawkes Bay economy,” he said
However, Napier City Council and Hastings District Council have work underway on a region-wide plan for establishing industrial precincts. The report is due in about two months, said Dean Prebble, Napier City Council’s economic development manager.
Some of it will be about attracting clean industries to the region's industrial precincts, said Prebble, particularly those such as Onekawa, which are near Pandora Pond and Ahuriri Estuary, areas that suffer from water quality issues.
The freehold land at Onekawa, with a Napier City Council rating valuation of $740,000, has dual frontage on to a no-exit road, giving drive -through options for businesses using B-train vehicles.
Logistically, the greenfield site connects to Prebensen Dr and the SH2 expressway linking Napier Port and the airport as well as providing easy access to the CBD.
Onekawa is Napier’s main industrial area. It is about 4km south-west of the city centre, between the western side of Taradale Road and SH 2.
“The area is well established with a mix of small to medium size industrial businesses ranging through to service and commercial activities,” Evans said.
“The bare land provides an opportunity for a developer to subdivide, an owner-occupier to design and build premises, or a land-banker who would have the long-term benefit of controlling the site for key port clients, such as logging and container companies, or warehousing and third party logistics firms needing to expand.
“Napier is under pressure to provide solutions for the continuing wall of wood coming into the port. Log scalers and associated industries are also being squeezed to find logistical answers to meet the port's everincreasing freight as the region's economy strengthens,” Evans said.
“Surrounded by Halls Transport, Printstock Products and Goodtime Pie company, the Turner Pl land is one of few remaining large industrial sites in Napier. A large warehouse, a smaller building and big yard, or a clean industry factory could be erected on the property,” he said.
“The comparative cost of acquiring a site that is fully developed makes this an attractive proposition. For companies wanting to relocate their business to Hawke's Bay there are daily flights to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, making it an enviable headquarters for large industrial operators.”
Napier's main industrial zone allows for a wide range of land uses in the Onekawa, Awatoto, and Pandora precincts. Each of the areas have a range of both industrial and commercial activity. Onekawa has a significant retailing component in addition to the diverse manufacturing and light service industries.
Hawke's Bay's economy is underpinned by a robust primary sector. The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) predicts continued strong growth in the pip fruit, wine and forestry sectors, the main exports from Hawke's Bay.
Evans said: “Consequently, Napier Port is experiencing exponential growth in volumes exported and this has been accelerated by capturing business that once exported though the Port of Wellington.”