Easy to turn green at northwest industrial park

The Mill has its own water supply and on-site treatment. Photo / Supplied

With an infrastructure designed to assist occupiers to achieve Green Star building ratings, a new environmentally friendly industrial subdivision between Kumeu and Riverhead is offering a limited number of sites for sale.

A total of 12 fully serviced lots in The Mill industrial park, named after the former Carters Mill once located on the site in Forestry Rd, Kumeu, are being offered for sale by deadline private treaty, closing on April 1.

Ranging from 2122sq m to 2.8ha they are being marketed by Rosemary Wakeman, Bayleys North Shore, and Mark Jorgensen, Bayleys Auckland.

The Mill contains over 10ha of industrial and commercial land and a significant investment has been made in the infrastructure, including its own water supply as well as on-site waste water and storm water treatment.

The site was purchased by an investment group in 2006 and is being managed by Structure Developments. The subdivision and infrastructure work was completed last year, with final titles recently issued to parties who bought about 20 per cent of the sites.

Structure Development's development manager Jonathan Polglase says the infrastructure, shared services and amenities incorporated into the development not only reduce the site's environmental impact but also increase the potential for buildings constructed there to perform well in Green Star rating assessments.

Key features include the on-site sourcing of all potable water by rainwater collection into a dam and a local water bore, treatment of sewage via an onsite wastewater treatment system, and reduced watercourse pollution through onsite vegetated wetlands.

Polglase says these and other green features positively impact on 21 of the 145 unweighted points that go towards a Green Star Industrial rating for buildings located within the precinct.

Wakeman says The Mill's infrastructure is significantly more than what is provided within the Kumeu township, which has no water or sewerage systems. It also provides more flexibility and potentially lower development costs for occupiers.

"Watercare Services has recently indicated that there are likely to be delays to an earlier commitment to provide the wastewater and water services infrastructure necessary for further business development at Kumeu, Huapai and Riverhead," Wakeman says.

"This makes The Mill, which has put its own infrastructure in place to provide these services, a real asset to the area and it will play a leading role in both providing expansion opportunities for local industrial businesses and in attracting new businesses to the area."

Mark Jorgensen, who specialises in marketing properties in the Kumeu and Huapai areas, says sourcing water and treating waste are big issues for heavy water-using businesses such as concrete companies and these types of businesses are well catered for at The Mill.

Structure Developments is able to assist with design and build premises to meet the specific requirements of businesses and finance is also available. Wakeman says the sale prices of The Mill sites from$200 per sq m are considerably cheaper than Albany and more than competitive with nearby Kumeu.

She says Riverhead and Kumeu are well located for businesses wanting good access to the Auckland CBD and North Shore as well as west Auckland.