Ready-made redevelopment property on Medical Mile

155 to 157 Remuera Rd are in an area zoned for intensifying development.

Two large houses on Remuera Rd on the market give a buyer the chance to proceed with abandoned redevelopment plans for a new medical office or keep them for residential use.

The properties at 155 and 157 Remuera Rd are offered for sale through Mark Wyness and Charlie Oscroft of Colliers International via deadline private treaty closing on March 27.

Wyness says resource consent was approved in October to develop a 790sq m three-level, multi-purpose medical facility but because of a change in plans, the owner has decided to sell up.

"It's rare to find a landholding of this size on Remuera Rd," Wyness says. "The property comprises side-by-side freehold titles totalling 1065sq m, offering a premium site in Remuera's Medical Mile zone. It's also unusual for a new owner to have a chance to step into a redevelopment project this far along with a new facility planned, consented and ready to be built. The property is being sold with vacant possession so a new owner could proceed immediately and start construction."

The properties back to Mt Hobson Domain at the corner with Dilworth Ave in the middle of Remuera's Medical Mile, where offices are mixed with homes and retail outlets. "The property presents a number of options," says Wyness. "It's ideally suited to an owner-occupier or add-value developer wishing to have a presence in the [medical] precinct.

"The planned medical office is an attractive two-storey building with a basement and 22 car parks. It was designed to fit in with the existing character of the neighbourhood with lots of windows and skylights allowing in plenty of natural light."

But a new owner could plan a different type of building. "The property is in the Residential 6A zone, allowing for some types of commercial buildings and higher-density housing with a height limit of 8m."

The house closest to the corner of Dilworth Ave is No 155, a converted 1920s former residential dwelling of 217sq m on a 683sq m site. It is already occupied by a medical office on a month-to-month tenancy and generating $2500 a month plus GST in rent.

The second property, No 157, is a vacant 1920s' residential converted flat of 196sq m on a 382sq m site. The weatherboard building has four bedrooms with parking for two cars.

The site extends beyond the buildings along the footpath towards the corner, giving adequate room for a large rectangular two-level building with car parks.

Oscroft says the property is well located about 1km from Remuera Village where investor demand for high-quality commercial buildings is strong. "The property has excellent profile on Remuera Rd.

"Its location is one of the major attractions, Remuera being one of Auckland's best addresses, having an affluent population and some of the country's most sought-after schools. It's a five to 10-minute drive of the CBD in normal traffic flows, and access to the motorway is close at the Khyber Pass Rd and St Marks Rd on-ramps."

Oscroft say the surrounding development is a mix of retail outlets, medical offices, commercial buildings and houses.

'The area is intensifying, with new residential development bringing in more terraced houses and apartments. The zoning and siting of this property make it suitable for commercial activities such as office space or a higher-density housing."

Strong demand for new office space in the Medical Mile area was illustrated by the November sale of Mansons' huge new Watercare Services Building at 73 Remuera Rd.

"It sold for $100 million for a 7 per cent yield, with most of the space already leased to government tenants including Watercare.

"Increasingly we are seeing large corporate tenants seeking space outside the CBD."