Retail space is the perfect addition to attractive community, writes Colin Taylor
KEY POINTS:
The first new commercial development in a decade near Gulf Harbour's marina on Whangaparaoa Peninsula north of Auckland will open its doors next month.
North Shore development company Hughes & Tuke is putting the finishing touches to Gulf Harbour Plaza, its 1500sq m retail and office development at 69-89 Gulf Harbour Drive, Whangaparaoa, so tenants can move in.
The two-storey development, 200m from the marina village, has a contemporary design sympathetic to the Mediterranean feel and colours of the residential area around the marina.
The eight ground-floor retail units have been sold and Colliers International North Shore commercial sales and leasing manager Janet Marshall is concentrating on selling or leasing the first-floor office units.
About 650sq m of office space is divided across six units ranging in size from 86sq m to 123sq m.
"A 96sq m unit has already been sold and a 103sq m unit is being split into two office suites that will be available for lease only," says Marshall.
To give prospective buyers an idea of a finished office, Hughes & Tuke is fitting out the smallest unit as a display suite.
"The offices are being targeted at businesses coming out of a home environment and the finished office will give new owners an idea of what can be achieved with a corporate look and feel," says Garry Barclay, Hughes & Tuke's sales manager.
Marshall says the offices are also suitable for medical and associated uses as there is a lift as well as stairs to the first floor.
"The carpeted and air-conditioned offices, with high-profile, main road exposure, are affordable for owner occupiers or investors at prices ranging from $266,700 to $394,000."
Sitting between Wentworth College's hall and gymnasium, Gulf Harbour Plaza's three front office units have views over the marina and two of the three rear units have their own external decks.
Marshall says there is generous external parking for both the retail and office floors.
"Gulf Harbour Plaza's location is a pleasant area in which to have an office. The development suits the local market and it is probably the only chance to secure an office in this area for some time."
Cafes are planned on the ground floor at either end of the building, says Marshall.
"Both will have outdoor seating under pergolas and will be a nice area where business meetings can be held."
Hughes & Tuke says it saw a need for a small commercial development in the Gulf Harbour area.
"Our research showed it was always going to be a flyer," says Barclay.
"Our faith was justified when the retail units sold quickly."
Gulf Harbour is one of Rodney District Council's fastest-growing areas. The Northern Motorway extension has opened up the Hibiscus Coast and it is predicting more than 34,000 will live in the Whangaparaoa area by 2036.
The Southern Hemisphere's second-largest marina, containing 1055 berths, is at Gulf Harbour.
The council says the steady growth and development which most of New Zealand has enjoyed over the past 100 years has been condensed in Rodney's case to about 40 years.
The "pressure cooker" atmosphere that exists means managing growth is its main focus and there is a "certain scale" of development that is appropriate for its character and lifestyle, the council says.
Marshall says Gulf Harbour Plaza fits the council's objectives.
"It is on one of the country's most beautiful peninsulas, has direct ferry links to Auckland CBD and has been developed by Hughes & Tuke, which has a track record of producing quality commercial and industrial developments stretching back to 1983."
The company's projects over the past couple of years have included the acclaimed Rosedale Office Park in Albany, a substantial heritage conversion on Dominion Rd, Auckland, a large-scale industrial unit development in Wiri and a just completed office park at Ellerslie.
