A well-located industrial property in a high-profile Lower Hutt precinct has been placed on the market for sale with its strong leasing history and favourable zoning likely to appeal to passive investors looking to position themselves in a growth area.

The property at 8 Burnham Street, Petone is adjacent to Mitre 10 MEGA and is fully leased to anchor tenant modular construction company Niche Modular Construction Limited, and technical services company Engie Services New Zealand Limited trading as Equans.

It has a total net lettable area of 9,518sqm with the buildings having a seismic rating of 67-percent new building standard. The substantial 14,994sqm flat site is zoned General Business, which allows broad industrial and non-industrial uses, but does not as-of-right include bulk retail.

Constructed in the 1970s for Fletcher Steel, the property comprises a large high-stud warehouse with associated office space, leased by Niche Modular. The warehouse has a stud height in excess of 10m at the apex, has a steel portal frame with reinforced concrete columns and steel purlins and a long-run steel roof.

There is also a large canopy extension which is accessed from the rear yard with the tenancy having drive-through access from Burnham Street, exiting onto that rear yard and then a driveway out to Bouverie Street close to the MEGA Mitre 10 premises.

Two-level office accommodation located near the Burnham Street entrance has good natural lighting and is occupied by Equans.

There are sealed yards to the front and rear of the warehouse, with the front portion marked into car park spaces, and there’s galvanised post and wire security fencing around the open boundaries of the site.

The property returns annual net income of $1,358,590 plus GST, with annual fixed rental increases, and will be sold by tender closing 4th December via Grant Young, Fraser Press and Mark Hourigan of Bayleys Wellington Commercial.

Young says the property is owned by a family trust and would suit a similar passive investment entity or a private investor with an eye to more intensive development in the future given the zoning.

“The general area was once characterised by large industrial premises, but is now in demand for bulk retail as evidenced by Mitre 10 MEGA, Plumbing World and Gilmours Wellington.

“The Burnham Street property is a fit-for-purpose and functional industrial offering that has a strong leasing history and clearly suits the main tenant, Niche Modular, allowing them to prefabricate structural modular building components undercover.

“The property has good access to the arterial roading network and is close to the Dowse Interchange which streamlines the movement of goods via State Highway 2.”

Ideally suited for manufacturing purposes, the building was previously occupied by construction material and roofing businesses, and Young says the General Business zoning offers redevelopment opportunities in the future which underpins the value of the property.

“This frame of Petone has evolved significantly in recent years with the development of the Imperial Park commercial and industrial complex on the former Imperial Tobacco factory site with dual frontages to Richmond and Bouverie Streets,” he says.

“Mitre 10 MEGA has a proven presence as a bulk retail and trade destination and the general vicinity supports a range of trade and public-facing businesses.”

Locally owned and operated Niche Modular delivers modular building solutions for both private and public sectors, producing turnkey solutions for the residential, commercial and education sectors from the Petone base. It has been awarded contracts for the provision of modular classroom solutions for the Ministry of Education and has been contracted to build the new Moerā Neighbourhood Hub on the existing Moerā library site.

Click here for more information on the listing.