Land shortage fuels appetite for rare greenfields site in Te Rapa
One of the last remaining industrial development sites in Waikato’s most sought-after industrial pocket has been placed on the market amid intense owner-occupier demand for premises across the region.
The bare land at Lot 57, Te Kowhai East Rd in the popular Te Rapa commercial and industrial hub provides 7942sq m of industrially-zoned development land with easy access to major transport networks including SH1 and the new Waikato Expressway.
Bayleys Hamilton salesperson Jordan Metcalfe says that as Hamilton’s fastest-growing industrial area, the precinct forms a vital part of the Golden Triangle economic powerhouse, which contributed around 52 per cent of national GDP in the year to March 2021.
“Nationally, there is a shortage of viable industrial development sites, with tight availability being felt acutely across the Waikato, which is the most productive import and export corridor in New Zealand,” Metcalfe says.
“In the 12 months to March 2021, more than half of all industrial building consents were issued for properties within the golden triangle of Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, adding economies of scale and ease of development in the area.
“Developers and owner occupiers are utilising current market conditions to seek well-located sites with underlying land value from preferable zoning, and value uplift from development potential.”
Metcalfe says the site is one of the last remaining bare land sites ripe for development within the newly developed region of Te Rapa.
He is marketing the property with Bayleys colleagues Rebecca Bruce and David Cashmore. It will be auctioned at noon on 29 September.
Bruce says Waikato’s industrial sector has been leading nonresidential building development, fueled by rapid growth in the e-commerce sector and the associated demand for logistics premises.
“Bare land opportunities are becoming rare as hen’s teeth as demand from industrial occupiers, buoyed by the halo effect from Auckland, continues to soar.”
Bayleys Waikato’s commercial director David Cashmore says Te Rapa’s recent expansion has been tremendous. “The rapid uptake of new industrial subdivisions along the city’s northern boundary has been astounding with some 60ha of land nearly sold out,” Cashmore says.
Cashmore says properties within the precinct will benefit from substantial local development, particularly as earthworks are under way at the Ruakura Superhub, a 30-year project alongside the Waikato Expressway, which includes an inland port. It is a joint project between Tainui Group Holdings and the Port of Tauranga.