The substantial site in the prosperous Waikato township of Te Awamutu features a 1,885-square metre building sitting on 5,126-square metres of freehold flat land surrounded by security fencing.
The modern warehousing and administrative premises at 249 Bruce Berquist Drive is located in the heart of Te Awamutu’s industrial precinct – a wedge of warehousing and factory properties sitting between Bond Road and Te Rahu Road.
Leading New Zealand native honey harvesting and retailing brand Manuka Honey occupies the rear 1,125-square metre portion of the building premises, while the middle 600-square metres of high-stud concrete-floored warehousing is occupied by soil fertiliser and nutrients supply company Fertco.
The remaining 160-square metres of office space at the front of the property is occupied by a private commercial services company. The greater property reflects a horse-shoe format – with sealed parking and vehicle access yards encircling the modern single-storey building on three sides.
The core of the Bruce Berquist Drive building was constructed some 12 years ago and was further added to over the intervening years as its tenants’ activities expanded. That tenancy growth and the consequential building developments have maximised land-use efficiency.
Now the freehold land and building at 249 Bruce Berquist Drive in Te Awamutu are being marketed for sale at auction on Thursday, September 29 through Bayleys Hamilton. Salesperson Josh Smith said the modern easy-care property was a straightforward investment opportunity sustained by three separately operating tenancies.
“Constructed with steel framing, iron cladding, and tilt slab walls, the property has high-quality street appeal. The street-fronting portion of the property is supported by substantial sealed parking for seven vehicles immediately in front of the prominent office configuration, with parking space for another three vehicles on the yard around the side of the building,” Smith said.
“The property’s office space comprises a modern single-level structure containing a reception space, open-plan work area, stereotypical private offices, staff kitchen, and staff bathroom amenities.
“The design of the building means that in future, there is the potential that the office portion of the building could be integrated with the independent warehouse floor area in the middle portion of the structure. Or of course, it could continue to operate in its current configuration to sustain a three-tenancy model.”
Smith said Maunka Health’s lease at Bruce Berquist Drive included parking spaces for 10 vehicles. The two warehousing portions in the middle and rear of the building are individually serviced by full height roller doors – allowing for access by large delivery trucks, while the expanse of sealed yard space allowed for outdoor pallet storage.
The Te Awamutu warehousing and commercial office property for sale generates annual rental of $258,000 plus GST and operating expenses, with the tenancies comprising:
• Manuka Health New Zealand on a lease running through to 2027 with two further 30-month rights of renewal
• Fertco Limited on a lease running through to 2025 with three further three-year rights of renewal
and
• A private commercial services company on a fixed-term lease.
The rectangular-shaped property is zoned commercial 8A under the Waipa District Council plan and is surrounded by similar industrial tenancies including a bus depot, several automotive repair and maintenance workshops, various farm product depots, animal husbandry companies, and civil works yards.
“Manuka Honey and Fertco are utilising the Bruce Berquist Drive premises as cost-effective warehousing storage facility. With both firms growing their operations in the Golden Triangle of Auckland/Hamilton/Tauranga, the location perfectly underpins their business operations,” said Smith.
“Te Awamutu – like Cambridge and Morrinsville elsewhere in the Waikato – is increasingly being seen by Hamilton and Waikato-centric firms, as a more cost-effective provincial location in which to be operating from compared to suburban Hamilton zones with their higher land costs and greater traffic congestion.”
Located some 30-kilometres south of Hamilton directly on State Highway 3, Te Awamutu has a population of approximately 12,000 residents.