Three newly-built industrial units in Northside Drive, Westgate have been placed on the market for sale or lease and are expected to draw strong interest as businesses within the wider precinct prepare to leverage off the arrival of New Zealand’s first Costco store.

The Westgate catchment is a high-growth location identified by Auckland Council as the key population and employment node for north west Auckland.

It has been evolving over the last 20 years with development work on the Westgate Town Centre, spearheaded by New Zealand Retail Property Group (NZRPG) which master-planned the 56-hectare $1billion-plus new town centre as an economic and service hub for northwest Auckland.

News that multi-billion-dollar global retailer Costco is projected to open in the precinct in 2021 has further invigorated the area and is underpinning confidence for industrial investors and owner-operators who have been squeezed out of the Albany market and are looking west for new opportunities.

Mark Preston of Bayleys Central West Auckland team and Matt Mimmack, Bayleys North Shore Commercial, are marketing the three units at 5 Northside Drive, which is at the top end of Westgate, on former farmland just off Fred Taylor Drive and around 600 metres from Mitre 10 MEGA.

The units are for sale by negotiation or for lease and are unit-titled.

Preston says investors and owner-occupiers looking to purchase industrial property, and businesses looking to lease premises, will be heartened to see the high-quality Northside Drive units come to the market.

“Despite other building activity in the broader area, this is the only new industrial warehouse unit development completed and available for immediate occupation,” he says.

“The units are empty and ready to view now by owners or prospective tenants who are geared up to act quickly, as business life in New Zealand returns to a new normal for everyone,” says Preston.

“The industrial property market has ticked on during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and we’re hearing first-hand that it’s been a valuable time for investors and occupiers to reassess or consolidate their business plans and property needs.

“They’ve been thinking about where they want to be location-wise and we expect steady enquiry on these units which are well-positioned and of a good size to take a business forward.”

All of the units have 8-9-metre stud warehousing – up to 2-metres higher than other comparable offerings in the immediate area – with associated ground floor showrooms and canopies, generous first floor office space and allocated car parks.

Internally, the polished concrete floors on the ground floor office/showroom and the ducted air-conditioning are high-specification features not always seen in industrial developments of this nature.

Preston says the warehouse-to-office ratio is efficient and if investors are looking for a split-risk proposition or an owner-occupier is considering sub-leasing out some space, he adds it could be possible to create a separate entrance to the upstairs component which would allow for further flexibility.

The units which are zoned Business-Light Industry range from 700sqm to 810sqm, have between 12 and 15 allocated car parks per unit and a net rental return between $144,523 to $166,037 per unit, depending on size.

The development has a 100-percent structural new building standard rating. Construction comprises reinforced concrete foundations, steel column and beam framing and concrete floors. The exterior cladding is concrete panel, there are glazed frontages to the car park areas, and long-run steel roofing and aluminium joinery complete the units.

The development was constructed by Hobsonville-based Gibson O’Connor, a commercial and industrial construction company that has recently undertaken high-profile work in Silverdale, Hobsonville, Albany and Wiri.

Preston says with main arterials leading to the town centre and light rail planned to offer further connectivity for the node, the area’s future looks encouraging.

“Suburbanisation is well-underway at Westgate and with other key urban developments like nearby Hobsonville Point coming to fruition, investor eyes are definitely turning this way.”

Property address: Units 1,2 and 3, 5 Northside Drive, Westgate