Virginia Ave East is a one-way street extending north from New North Rd, is close to the Mt Eden train station and about 500m west of the intersection of Khyber Pass Rd, Symonds St and Newton Rd.
Haydock says the property is surrounded by a mixture of small warehouses and other light industrial buildings, offices and apartments, with an increasing trend towards medium-density residential development because of its proximity to the CBD and popular suburbs such as Kingsland, Ponsonby and Newmarket. The location is well serviced by public transport and major motorway interchanges are close by.
The building is the head office of Sky Communications Ltd, which provides a comprehensive range of services to telecommunications operators, systems integrators, fibre network providers and ISPs (internet service providers) throughout Australasia and the Pacific region.
Sky Communications has a three-year lease running until April next year, which produces net annual rental income of $180,000 plus GST, with no right of renewal. Haydock says there's been strong interest in the building from potential owner-occupiers as good-quality fringe CBD warehouse space becomes increasingly rare.
"I'm not aware of any other warehouse space of this size and stud height so close to the CBD, and it presents a real opportunity for a business looking for distribution and storage space close to the city but which also has good motorway access.
"It would also be an ideal land-banking opportunity for that business, given the size of the site and its underlying mixed-use zoning, which means it should continue to increase in value as a development site."
Haydock says the mixed-use zoning, which is applied to urban areas where opportunities exist to live, work, learn, shop and undertake leisure activities, also offers a wide variety of options for developers.
"The site is currently under-utilised and there is an opportunity to develop it more intensively, particularly for residential use given the strong demand for apartments and terraced housing in this area. A developer would also benefit from the property's holding income while they formulate their plans and obtain the necessary consents."
The other Eden Terrace property at nearby Minnie Ave, which runs off New North Rd and Virginia Ave East, is up for tender with vacant possession through Cameron Melhuish of Bayleys Auckland, and Alan Haydock, with a closing date of Monday, May 28.
Melhuish says the property comprises a well-presented, stand-alone, 411sq m building on a 476sq m site that has a high car-parking ratio, with a total of 15 on-site parks. Built in the late 1980s, the building's two floors each have approximately 205sq m of open-plan office space. Both have kitchen facilities, male and female bathrooms and decks.
"The property, through its configuration and underlying mixed-use zone, offers a wide range of potential uses," says Melhuish. "It's very solidly constructed with no seismic issues. There is a genuine opportunity to add value through refurb-ishment to create upmarket open-plan offices, or it could potentially be converted into residential accommodation or perhaps a mixture of both business and living space.
"For example, a business could be operated on the ground floor and the owner could live on the floor above where there is just over 200sq m of space. This is more than in many stand-alone houses in the area, which have also become very expensive. There are also not many fringe city sites of this size offering this amount of car parking, which is a big benefit for both business and residential use."
Melhuish says there appears to be potential to add further floor area to the building. "This is a well-located, affordable city fringe building, which offers versatility for owner-occupiers and investors looking to add value."
