As development fundamentals slowly come back into line off the back of a better economic outlook and improved consumer confidence, agents marketing an underutilised light industrial site in the tightly held Mt Wellington precinct are expecting strong interest from buyers.

The property at 160 Marua Road was formerly home to Cook Productions Limited, a longstanding family-owned integrated manufacturing company making metal and plastic components. The business was recently sold and operations moved elsewhere, hence the now-vacant property is surplus to requirements.

The freehold 3,137sqm landholding is held in two titles and zoned Business-Light Industry. There is currently very low site coverage, with the existing standalone industrial building having a total floor area of 795sqm, comprising medium-stud workshop space, with first-floor offices.

James Valintine and William Gubb, Bayleys South Auckland, are marketing the property by deadline private treaty, with offers closing Thursday 28th November, unless sold prior.

The property is located 2.5km off the Ellerslie State Highway 1 interchange, around 10km from the Auckland CBD. It backs onto the rear buildings of the Edmund Hillary Retirement Village, and directly to the west, National Storage is developing a multi-level storage facility. The site has expansive frontage to Marua Road, providing optimal branding opportunities and access points.

While the existing warehouse is functional and until recently served the well-established manufacturing business well, the best and highest use for the subject site is arguably a new development, says Valintine who emphasises the lack of available land in the immediate area.

“Mt Wellington is a resilient industrial location, with good connectivity to the wider city, and is always sought-after by occupiers. The owner of the property operated successfully from the site for many decades and has seen the wider area evolve significantly in that time.

“The precinct traditionally has low vacancy rates and this property with its large area of undeveloped land and potential for a sizeable new development is one of the last undeveloped sites on Marua Road.

“There is an identified shortage of 200-250sqm industrial units so a unit development catering to that market could have legs.”

Gubb says while likely to appeal to owner-occupiers, developers and landbankers, the existing facility could be refurbished and re-leased because it has compelling yard space, particularly if the existing grassed area was sealed.

“Yard space is in exceedingly short supply in the Auckland industrial market, so for a buyer who takes a longer-term view and appreciates the rarity of the landholding, this would provide holding income while future redevelopment plans are prepared and approved.”

The Marua Road property is around 1km from the Lunn Avenue retail and trade precinct. Around 4km south of the subject site, work is progressing on IKEA’s first New Zealand store in Sylvia Park with a mid-2025 completion target.

The Auckland Economic Monitor 2024 which provides comprehensive insights and commentary on Auckland’s macroeconomic performance benchmarked to data collected over the past five years, shows industries requiring industrial-zoned land, such as manufacturing, wholesale trade, transport and warehousing are still a considerable source of jobs in Auckland.

The report showed that 27% employment growth was seen in the Mt Wellington industrial area since 2018.

Click here for more information on the listing.