A well-placed child daycare centre

The Songbird Early Childhood Centre, Aongatete. Photo / Supplied

Land and buildings housing a semi-rural child daycare centre, about 27km north of Tauranga, have been placed on the market for sale.

The property is at 2257 SH2, near Aongatete, where it houses the Songbird Early Childhood Centre, which cares for up to 25 children aged from 2-5 years.

The daycare buildings sit on 1.36ha of freehold land zoned Rural with consent for a childcare facility. The property — but not the childcare business — is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Tauranga, with tenders closing at 4pm on July 26. It features in Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio magazine out this weekend.

Bayleys Tauranga salespeople Graeme Coleman and Phil Mangos say the centre comprises of a converted dwelling and garage, now fenced and secured for the safety of its pre-school guests.

"There are two relocatable units on the property, along with a relocatable kitchen/communal area. Supporting the building infrastructure is a large grassed area with numerous plantings and room to build or relocate a dwelling. All of this with the backdrop of the Kaimai Range in the distance," says Coleman.

The facility is surrounded by farmland and orchards. Set among trees and native plants it has a large lawn, vegetable garden, a playground with a variety of climbing frames and spaces, and a huge sandpit.

Songbird Early Childhood Centre business is on a new five-year lease running through to 2022 generating net rent of $35,100 plus GST per annum, with two further five-year rights of renewal.

"Being at Aongatete makes it a convenient drop-off child care facility for parents commuting from Athenree and Katikati to work in Tauranga, then picking up their children on the way home from work," says Coleman.

Since 2008, the proportion of pre-school Kiwi children enrolled in early childhood education (ECE) and the amount of time they spend there have both risen. The number of children has risen from 93.6 per cent to 96.6 per cent, with time spent in ECE has reached an average of 21.7 hours a week, up from 13.5 hours in 2000.

The Government fully funds 20 hours of care a week for all children aged three, four and five.