Muriwai coastal lodge and campground

Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground overlooks Muriwai Beach, about 42km from Auckland's CBD. Photo / Supplied

The only Commercially zoned land and business, sustaining one of the last remaining caravan park accommodation facilities near Auckland city, have been placed on the market in the West Coast seaside township of Muriwai.

The Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground overlooking Muriwai Beach, about 42km from Auckland CBD, comprises an 8477sq m property with a full complement of campground-styled accommodation infrastructure.

Featured in Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio magazine, the freehold land, buildings and going concern business operation, encompassing the Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground business at 181 and 189 Motutara Rd, are for sale by tender through Bayleys Kumeu, with tenders closing at 4pm on Thursday August 1.

Bayleys North West salespeople Jayne McCall and Scott Kirk say the property is surrounded by mature trees and bush.

They say the campground was originally established in the 1950s as a typical 'Kiwiana' venue for Aucklanders spending long summer holidays at the black sand beach. For the past few decades, the location has been dually operating as Muriwai's local grocery store and cafe; and also houses 'permanent' residents living in either cabins or in caravans on the property.

McCall says the property occupied by the Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground was zoned Neighbourhood Centre within the Auckland Council Plan – allowing for neighbourhood-friendly commercial activities to be undertaken on site.

Permitted activities under the Neighbourhood Centre classification include visitor accommodation, food and beverage sale, supermarkets up to 450sq m in size, and healthcare facilities typically up to three storeys high.

Accommodation and business infrastructure at the Muriwai Lodge Store

and Campground complex include:

• the property's main operations block with a three-bedroom owner/manager's flat and an adjoining two bedroom two-bedroom flat on its upper level;
• the Muriwai Lodge Store encompassing a superette shopping area that carries a small selection of groceries and domestic consumables;
• an art gallery showcasing paintings, sculptures and creative works by local artists;
• a fast-food outlet serviced by two commercial kitchens, with stainless steel benching, deep fryers, a walk-in chiller unit, and commercial-grade extraction ducting;
• five one-bedroom cabins ranging in size from 26sq m to 45sq m - each with their own kitchen, lounge and bathroom;
• a single 68sq m two-bedroom cabin with its own kitchen, lounge, and bathroom;
• up to 15 powered hardstand sites for connection to motorhomes and caravans; and
• a communal amenity ablution, shower, laundry and kitchen block with four showers, two toilets, a clothes washer/dryer, and food preparation area.

The main central block retail and residential components of Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground total 578.9sq m.

With dual income streams from retail and property rental activities, the cabins and powered caravan sites at Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground are tenanted on month-to-month leases. They generated rental income of $85,692 in the 2017/2018 financial year; while the shop earned $35,019 of rental income over the same period.

McCall says Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground is a virtual 'blank canvas' opportunity for a new owner – with numerous add-value prospects to pursue.

"Potential new avenues for the greater property range from: maintaining the present building infrastructure and accommodation-provision and retail businesses; through to simultaneously completely reconfiguring or even rebuilding the main hub and upgrading the campground accommodation back to a tourist-based user model," she says.

The Muriwai Lodge Store encompasses a superette area, an art gallery and a fast-food outlet. Photo / Supplied

"This could see the main structure replaced with a more efficient mixed-used building housing the likes of a specialist cafe which could incorporate the current art gallery, or even the installation of co-working styled, shared office space.

"With the building height restrictions permittable under the Auckland Plan, there would also be the potential for constructing a boutique apartment complex above the ground-level retail area delivering either commercial holiday accommodation or for permanent lets.

"Looking wider across the campground, the current 'permanent' caravan park business model could be substantially upgraded into a 'glamping' styled business – either utilising the current inventory of cabins and caravans as a core and modernising them; or by installing decor-refitted chalets or cabins."

Kirk says Muriwai is renowned for its scenic and environmental-based attractions - including surf breaks, rock fishing, cliff-top gannet breeding and nesting colony, all-weather sand-based golf course, and equestrian and trail bike riding tracks in the hills.

"The property at 181 and 189 Motutara Rd offers a real opportunity to capitalise on this broad spectrum tourism sector – tapping primarily into the Auckland market, which continues to thrive," he says.

"While there are numerous eco' attractions in Muriwai, there is no real commercial accommodation available aside from the nearby campground. As a consequence, visitors tend to come into the area as day-trippers driving out of and back to Auckland. That's a huge lost economic opportunity.

"The two-night weekend-stay market available out of Auckland is enormous – people want to be able to finish work on a Friday afternoon, head off to their 'break' destination, and be settled down with a bottle of wine and a platter of cheese by 6pm.

"Refurbished four-star quality accommodation designed to cater to an affluent consumer market would place Muriwai Lodge Store and Campground in the perfect position to establish itself as a weekend destination.

"The existing positioning of cabins and caravans within the compound property means there is the opportunity for a new owner of the business to raise the quality of accommodation without adversely affecting the 'green' character of being surrounded by the bush and hills of the Waitakeres."