Kumeu's big commercial land grab

The six sites have been subdivided from a 2.42ha block, bordered in red, at the corner of Greville Rd and Access Rd in Kumeu. Photo / Supplied

Six big commercial-industrial sites are being offered for sale in Kumeu, in Rodney County west of Auckland, where significant holdings in the township are tightly held by local land bankers or earmarked for future developments.

"These sites provide an outstanding opportunity for seasoned investors who will see the benefit of anchoring prime industrial CBD land at rates that may not to be repeated," says Graham McIntyre of LJ Hooker Kumeu, who is promoting the sale as "Kumeu's greatest land grab".

The sites range from 2000sq m to 16,000sq m and are flat and easy to build on, McIntyre says.

"These magnificent sites are nearing completion and titles will be available circa October 2010.

"All services will be provided including power, wastewater, stormwater and telecommunications."

The six lots will be auctioned, if not sold earlier, at 6pm next Thursday, August 12, in the rooms of LJ Hooker at 63 Main Rd, Kumeu.

The lot sizes are 5453sq m, 2248sq m, 2000sq m, 2282sq m, 8528sq m and 16,330sq m.

They have been subdivided from a level site of 2.42ha at the corner of Greville Rd and Access Rd in Kumeu which was zoned for industrial and discretionary commercial activities.

The site is about seven minutes' drive from the Westgate shopping centre at the end of the Northwestern Motorway, SH16, and 25 minutes northwest of Auckland City.

"Wastewater connection, which is expected around late 2011, will dramatically change consentable activities within Kumeu, allowing the township and surrounding area to accommodate businesses in the entertainment, accommodation, transportation, education and retail industries," McIntyre says.

"Future commercial projects for Kumeu could include hotels, pubs, motels, park-and-drive bus depot, shopping centres, childcare facilities, drive-through fast-food outlets, garden centres, schools, training centres, warehouses and restaurants.

"These are the perfect sites for developers or wise investors who will appreciate that the opportunity to buy such large, flat pieces of land of this quality in Kumeu township may not occur again in the foreseeable future."

In the past decade Kumeu and its surrounding area have witnessed a dramatic increase in demand from businesses seeking cost-effective industrial and commercial buildings and property within the Kumeu CBD, he says.

McIntyre notes that as a result of the economic climate industrial land values in the area have fallen from $450 a square metre in 2007 to around $250 a square metre now.

"This provides an excellent opportunity to invest in the future.

"Why would anyone pay around $500 per square metre in Albany, when they can purchase quality industrial land for under half that 15 minutes down the road in Kumeu?"

Kumeu and the rest of Rodney's western ward are expected to benefit significantly from the western motorway extension through to Brigham Creek Rd, which is expected to be completed in 2012 and will put the township only three minutes from a motorway link.

The area is already visited by thousands of Aucklanders attending vineyard weddings, visiting wineries, orchards and produce centres, playing golf at the Huapai and Muriwai courses and engaging in outdoor activities such as horse riding, motocross and trail biking in local pine forests.

Kumeu serves as the commercial hub for tourists and visitors to the Muriwai gannet colony, one of only two onshore gannet colonies in New Zealand, Waitakere kauri forest walks and the popular west coast surfing and fishing beaches.

"All these activities - along with special events - are major revenue earners for the district. However, due to the lack of accommodation and entertainment in Kumeu itself, significant revenue is lost to the area because visitors can only be 'day trippers' instead of being able to stay overnight or longer," McIntyre says.

Notable among these events is the annual Kumeu agricultural show, one of the largest in the country, which is held on 34ha owned by the Kumeu District Agricultural & Horticultural Society in March every year. Other significant events are the Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival, billed as the largest classic car and hot-rod festival in the Southern Hemisphere and the Just Gardening show.

"These events are held immediately opposite the land being offered for sale in Access and Greville Rds."