Artist's impression of the new Hobson Centre shopping complex at 124 Hobsonville Rd, Hobsonville, which will be anchored by a Countdown supermarket.
Artist's impression of the new Hobson Centre shopping complex at 124 Hobsonville Rd, Hobsonville, which will be anchored by a Countdown supermarket.
Convenience retailers and commercial businesses are being invited to lease space in a retail centre now under construction in Hobsonville, northwest Auckland and already 80 per cent advance tenanted.
The Hobson Centre at 124 Hobsonville Rd is anchored by Countdown and is due for completion in September this year. Other businesses which have signed up for the complex include Sushi, Tank Juice, a pharmacy and a Hardy's Health store.
Units and floor space in the Hobson Centre are being offered for lease through Peter Gorton and Chloe Franklin-Hall of Colliers International.
"Sensibly-sized suburban retail and commercial tenancies are available to service the immediate primary catchment," says Gorton.
Only two retail units of 97 sq m and 70 sq m, of the nine originally up for lease, remain untaken on the ground floor level of the architecturally designed extension building. Three ground floor retail units of about 115 sq m are also still for lease in an adjacent, larger building along with 300 sq m of commercial office space directly above on Level One.
"Flexible options for the commercial floor space usage are available, ranging from a minimum of 90 sq m through to the larger 300 sq m contiguous space," Gorton says.
"We expect continuing strong interest from retailers and commercial businesses for the very limited, quality, spaces remaining in the new centre given the presence of a national brand supermarket and the success of similar developments around Auckland's fringe which have replicated this successful retail formula."
"The take-up from small to medium commercial operators so far has been particularly encouraging. These mid to smaller office tenancies are ideal for businesses whose client base is in the immediate area," says Gorton.
"We're aiming to present options that will suit a variety of operators. A wide range of occupier types will be considered to ensure the best tenant mix for the centre." He says additional contracted businesses to date include a fitness centre; fast food, personal-care and seated dining outlets.
Franklin-Hall says the centre will also be a convenient place to meet given its car parking and café facilities in a main road location with accessibility off State Highway 18.
"It will be adjacent to a major arterial route that will ultimately form part of the Western Ring Route linking Upper Harbour and West Auckland with direct motorway access to Manukau and Auckland Airport," says Franklin-Hall.
"The property will benefit from on and off ramp access to both east and west bound traffic on a major and strategic Auckland route and will have high profile exposure to more than 30,000 vehicles a day."
The site is flanked by two major urban developments: Westgate Retail Centre (WRC) to the west - the largest master-planned urbanisation project currently underway in New Zealand; and various smaller new Hobsonville Point developments a few hundred metres away to the east.
Hobsonville Point has two schools and is one of the country's newest and fastest developing urban fringe townships with 30 to 40 new houses being settled and occupied each month.
Chloe Franklin-Hall.
"It is projected to generate several thousand jobs, and become the major commercial hub of northwest Auckland. It will be a key metropolitan urban centre for the Auckland region offering shopping, entertainment, business and public amenities spread over 56 hectares," says Franklin-Hall.
She says the location is also within 15 minutes' drive from home for approximately 490,000 people - including residents in the growing West Harbour and Massey North area.
"Residential developments like Hobsonville Point, and new ones planned for nearby Whenuapai are being fast-tracked to meet the needs of an increasing number of Auckland citizens so the Hobson Centre is well-placed to reap the rewards from a burgeoning population," Franklin-Hall says.
