A residential apartment complex needing remediation on a desirable city-fringe site within Ponsonby’s Three Lamps shopping district offers significant upside potential for investors and skilled developers.

Comprising 12 individually-titled residential properties, 930sqm (more or less) of freehold land at 11 Cowan Street occupies a prime corner location, providing scope to repair and reinstate the existing development or take advantage of the location to redevelop the property.

Bayleys Auckland City & Fringe salesperson James Were says since the complex is being sold on its existing condition, the properties will be sold in as-is, where-is basis.

Were is marketing the property for sale with Bayleys Auckland City & Fringe colleague Cameron Melhuish by way of tender closing at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, 6th December 2022 (unless sold prior).

Initially constructed in 1965 and refurbished in 1997, comprising two levels with six apartments on each floor totalling 650sqm (more or less), each one-bedroom residence is fully self-contained, with configurations of up to 48sqm (more or less).

Cameron Melhuish says the lower-level units each gain private courtyard access, while the upper residences feature balconies and views of the Hauraki Gulf. In addition, each unit has corresponding car parking provisions.

The units are part owner-occupied and part residentially tenanted.

“Mt Hobson Group has submitted a Plan 78 change on behalf of the Body Corporate, which seeks a zone change from Residential – Single House to Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings (THAB) zone subject final consent being granted.

“Subject to Council’s approval to the requested plan change, this would potentially increase the site’s scope for development, giving it an additional 11-metres in height overlay.

“Given both the local and central government emphasis on intensification, and the site’s desirable location within Ponsonby’s walkable catchment, amenities, transit routes and the city centre, the property is an excellent candidate for a plan change.

“The private plan change application specifically includes an increase to housing density, which would allow for more apartments to be built on the site, thus creating significant upside for a new purchaser choosing to redevelop,” he says.

If approved, the zone change would see the Cowan Street property achieve the greatest residential density provisions under the Auckland Unitary Plan.

“Investment and redevelopment opportunities of this scale and dynamic are increasingly rare on Auckland’s city fringe. Consequently, the property is expected to attract interest from a myriad of purchasers,” Melhuish says.

“Despite central bank efforts to dampen consumer demand and settle inflation, resulting in rising debt servicing costs, investors have been circling for opportunities.

“Strong residential growth pre-pandemic was heightened by a sustained programme of fiscal stimulus, which had an upward effect on asset values, and we’re seeing plenty of cash accrued during this time continues to search for a place to land.

“These private purchasers are not beholden to bank finance fundamentals and have greater scope to optimise and blend various accommodation offerings to fully capitalise on the site’s potential and extremely desirable location,” he says.

Click here for more information on the listing.