The Wellington City Council’s new District Plan allowing more intensification in established suburbs where infrastructure and jobs already exist, means the Kilbirnie suburban centre will further evolve to provide more residential accommodation on underdeveloped sites.

This premise underscores the value of a two-level commercial building fronting Kilbirnie’s main retail strip and the public car park facility to the rear, with favourable Metropolitan Centre zoning that allows development up to 35 metres and permits commercial, community, recreational and residential activities.

The property at 32-34 Bay Road is for sale with Bayleys and was last sold 20 years ago. It has provided a reliable income to the current owners who are now divesting the asset to enable a new owner to either continue as a commercial investment, and/or pursue potential redevelopment in line with the upzoning capacity the site allows.

The 1,012sqm freehold site supports around 1,265sqm of lettable space with five tenants on varying lease terms and annual net income of $343,193 plus GST.

The well-presented building is fully leased and anchored on the ground floor by BNZ, on a newly renewed lease for the large retail tenancy fronting Bay Road, and animation specialists Floating Rock in the office space accessed from the rear of the property.

On the first floor, the two office tenancies are occupied by long-established beauty therapy business Glow Beauty, and education tuition provider NumberWorks’nWords.

The property underwent seismic strengthening in 2020 to achieve a new building standard of 90%, with supporting documentation available.

Grant Young and Sarah Lyford of Bayleys Wellington Commercial are taking the property to tender closing 5th June.

Although the property has inherent value as a straight-forward commercial investment asset and there’s demand for office space in Kilbirnie, Young says the flexible and all-encompassing Metropolitan Centre zoning provides additional confidence by opening up considerable scope for redevelopment of the pivotally located site.

“Residential apartments with retail/commercial space at ground level would be the logical, best and highest use for the site.

“There are recent precedents set in the area for residential apartment living above commercial premises, with three multi-dwelling developments within around 500m of this property.

“The new 35-metre redevelopment build height threshold, which allows development up to around 10 levels, clearly opens up a number of future opportunities.”

Young says Kilbirnie is a popular suburb for investment and property tends to be held long-term – as evidenced by the 20-year ownership of this asset.

“The crucial fundamentals are all there – transport connectivity, proximity to the airport and the city centre, and a broad range of retail and service providers for the local community.

“These credentials are important for commercial investment, but also significantly support council’s commitment to increasing the housing supply to cater to demand and future growth projections.

“A centrally located 1,000sqm site on the main retail strip is not something that becomes available very often in Kilbirnie, so we’d expect strong interest by close of tender.”

Click here for more information on the listing.