Global marine hub sails on to market
A substantial warehouse complex housing a range of marine engineering firms – including the manufacturer of winning America’s Cup and Sail GP craft — has been placed on the market.
The property at Warkworth, just north of Auckland, consists of a 13,477sq m landholding sustaining some 3000sq m of warehousing and manufacturing premises with substantial yard space.
Among the tenants on the Woodcocks Rd site is Core Composites, which built three yachts to compete for various America’s Cup series, two of them successfully, and has also crafted and created appendages for a vast catalogue of super-maxi racing yachts around the world.
The firm also constructed the six foiling catamarans used in the Sail GP series established by US entrepreneur Larry Ellison and his New Zealand representative, Sir Russell Coutts. The AC50 format yachts, nicknamed ‘foiling cats’, with their hydrofoils and winged sails which are built in the Warkworth location, are identical boats and race side by side at locations around the world.
The Warkworth property also houses stainless steel marine product manufacturing and fabrication firm Dixon Manufacturing whose New Zealand aquatic clients includes such big names as Sealegs, Stabicraft and Core Composites as well as marinas in Northland, Auckland, Tauranga, and Marlborough.
Internationally, Dixon Manufacturing has marine customers in the Philippines, Netherlands, UK, North America and Australia.
Now the L-shaped freehold land and buildings at 59 Woodcocks Rd are being marketed for sale by tender through Barfoot & Thompson Commercial, Rodney, closing on August 26.
Salespeople Graeme Perigo and Ben Clare said the site’s freehold land was zoned Business – Light Industry under the Auckland Council Plan.
Perigo said that with a substantial portion of the property currently under-utilised as lawn and storage or carparking, the most likely long-term use for the property was as a redevelopment opportunity underpinned by holding income while any appropriate council consents are acquired.
“The address is one of the biggest properties within the Woodcocks Rd industrial precinct and as such offers a new owner a sizeable landholding to develop in a multitude of potential formats. The attraction for this opportunity is enhanced by the relatively flat topography of the land, with a road frontage of approximately 50m,” Perigo said.
Combined, the five tenancies generate net annual rental income of $263,538. The full tenancy schedule encompasses:
Stainless steel marine product manufacturing and fabrication firm Dixon Manufacturing, occupying 927sq m of warehouse space on a month-to month lease
Dixon Manufacturing also has a separate lease for 2041sq m of warehouse and office space running through until 2022, with a further four-year right of renewal
A local engineer on a month-to-month lease of the smallest warehouse space for personal use
Window and door frame glass glazing firm Adams Steelguard on a month-to-month lease for storage
Composite tool engineering and high-tech boat manufacturing workshop Core Composites on a lease of yard space running through until 2022.
The complex – previously the printing plant for the Rodney Times local newspaper – is segregated into three individual warehousing units. Unit 1 consists of some 644sq m of three low and high stud warehouses. Unit 2 comprises some 1108sq m of two low and high stud warehouses, along with
457sq m of storage rooms and 413sq m of office space and staff amenities. Unit 3 comprises a 128sq m warehouse.
Clare said the main body of the complex was constructed in the 1960s and had been added on to or modified over the ensuing decades, and comprised concrete walls and concrete floors built on concrete foundations.
While the building was functional, it would probably require some remedial work to continue in its format long-term.
“Woodcocks Rd has long been the industrial centre for Warkworth, with surrounding premises comprising dozens of small engineering and tradiestyle tenancies, and even a craft beer brewery,” he said.
“The area is now expanding west to become Warkworth’s big box retail hub with Mitre 10 already located on the route, and The Warehouse and Noel Leeming believed to be relocating their operations to the precinct in the near future.”
Clare said 59 Woodcocks Rd was located just
500m from the intersection with SH1 and would be
2.5km from the on-ramps to the Northern Expressway extension due for completion next year.