Remuera Rd cafe and boarding house

The 631 Remuera Rd property houses a daytime cafe and an evening Thai restaurant. Photo / Supplied

A mixed use commercial and residential property is for sale on Remuera Rd with its underlying intensive Residential zoning providing a future development opportunity.

The freehold property at 631 Remuera Rd, comprises a 475sq m building with a restaurant at its street frontage plus a large villa, used as a boarding house, behind it.

It is being marketed by Nicolas Ching of Bayleys' international division in conjunction with Harry Cheng, senior residential broker at Bayleys' Newmarket office, and will be auctioned on March 6, unless sold earlier.

Cheng says the offering is underpinned by a half share of a 1540sq m land holding which is zoned Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings - permitting the highest density of residential development possible under the Auckland Unitary Plan. It allows for intensive five to six storey buildings up to a height limit of 16m.

"This zoning, plus the property's location on a busy arterial road, add to the attractiveness of this offering," says Cheng.

"It has good exposure to foot and vehicular traffic and is handily located near public transport links and amenities as well as the Greenlane State Highway 1 motorway interchange."

The property was originally developed in the 1930s as a 312sq m three-level villaand has six bedrooms with car parking at the rear. A more recent extension at the front portion of the site provides 132sq m of commercial accommodation on the road frontage.

Ching says recent additions to this part of the property include a new entrance with a deck off it and a sliding gate. There is a commercial kitchen, toilets and storage and office space. It is currently used as a cafe during the day and a Thai restaurant at night - generating annual rent of $86,956 plus GST.

"There is a monthly tenancy arrangement in place which means there is plenty of flexibility for the next owner," says Ching. "They could continue to bank the current solid cash flow, and perhaps attempt to negotiate a fixed term, while considering longer term plans for the property.

"It also increases the property's appeal for an owner occupier who could run a business from the front premises while receiving rental income from the residential accommodation at the rear. Conversely, the large dwelling could be refurbished and reconfigured as a home and the owner could draw income from the commercial accommodation.

"There are many options here and this is a rare opportunity to secure a big piece of tightly-held Remuera Rd which provides a great prospect for development in the near future."

The property is located on the southern side of Remuera Rd, across from the intersection with Ngapuhi Rd. It is within walking distance of the eastern end of the Upland Rd Remuera shopping and business precinct and is also close to the Meadowbank shopping centre.

"The area immediately surrounding the property is Mixed Use with several dwellings used for commercial purposes although it is predominantly residential, generally a mix of large character dwellings along with some newer units and townhouses," says Ching.