"That's a very lengthy lease term for retail premises and the fact that both businesses wanted to secure such a long-term tenure is testament to the strength of the location and how well the property has worked for them over the years."
Simply Fresh's occupation can be traced back to when the site was first developed in the 1950s. It began as a grocery store before becoming established as The Fruit Shed in the early 1980s and Simply Fresh in 1987.
"It has a well-established reputation on the North Shore for providing fresh, good-value fruit and vegetables and has a loyal customer base from the large surrounding residential catchment area," says Aldridge. "Simply Fresh also provides local restaurants, schools and rest homes with fresh produce through its growing wholesale department."
A small area of the store is also devoted to grocery items that are usually hard to find, such as sauces, chutneys and an array of herbs and spices.
Simply Fresh occupies 507sq m of ground floor retail and storage space plus 247sq m of office space on the upper level.
The remaining 322sq m of ground floor space is occupied by The Mad Butcher and is one of nearly 40 stores that it operates.
The part of the complex it occupies was completely rebuilt in 2009 to accommodate The Mad Butcher.
"The combination has worked well for both businesses with customers often buying their meat and produce at the same time," Aldridge says.
The rectangular-shaped, level site has substantial frontage to both Ocean View Rd and Hillcrest Ave and is in two titles.
The larger lot at 23 Ocean View Rd encompasses 2155sq m of land and has the two shops on it.
It has a Business 1 zoning and a Neighbourhood Centre zoning under the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan that will allow buildings of up to three storeys and residences on upper floors.
The smaller lot at 2 Hillcrest Ave has 706sq m of land and provides a tarsealed customer parking area.
It has a Residential 4A zoning and a proposed Single House zoning under the Unitary Plan.
"The development of this neighbouring residential property into car parking has improved the shopping experience for customers of the two retail businesses and provided for separation of a busy commercial building from surrounding neighbours," says Unka.
"There are now 57 car parks across the site with multiple entry and exit points and ample room for loading and unloading of products, as well as waste bin storage."
Unka says there may be potential to expand the building further to accommodate a third, complementary retail tenant, subject to obtaining the necessary council consents and the agreement of the existing tenants.
He says the property is a short distance away from the roundabout intersection of three main arterial roads: Ocean View Rd, Lake Rd, and Northcote Rd.
