A purpose-built expansive retail showroom premises on the edge of Auckland’s metropolitan industrial belt has been placed on the market for sale.

The high-profile premises at 281 Albany Highway in the Auckland suburb of Rosedale on the North Shore consists of a 1,130-square metre high-stud showroom with double-height window display space sitting on some 2,744 square metres of freehold land.

With double-level floor-to-ceiling eight metre windows, the building was designed with a motor vehicle showroom tenancy envisaged – showcasing marque cars both indoors and around the vast concrete paved yard directly in front of the building with lengthy exposure to one of the North Shore’s main arterial routes.

However, with the motor vehicle dealership no longer taking up the option to tenant the site, the property has been placed on the market for sale by tender through Bayleys North Shore, with tender offers closing on September 17. Salesperson Nicky Joyce said the site was suitable for a myriad of tenancies.

“Obviously it could fulfill its original function as a car showroom with associated parts warehousing. Following along the automotive line though, it could just as easily operate as a premium showroom for motorcycles, or motorboats and aquatic recreational craft – particularly taking into account the substantial fully-fenced yard space immediately in front of the building,” said Joyce.

“Concurrently, the scale of open-plan floorspace underpinned by 150 millimetres of steel reinforced concrete flooring would also sustain the likes of a high-end boutique supermarket, or an international foods supermarket. We have already had two enquiries from Asian supermarket owner-operators looking along those lines.

“The building has dual entrance and exit points off Albany Highway – one of which is controlled by traffic lights to allow for safe traffic movements onto the busy arterial route.

“As a blank canvas location, there is the opportunity for any new tenant to secure naming rights to the building, and potentially add billboard signage subject to further council approvals.”

The north-facing showroom building is orientated to maximise its exposure onto Albany Highway – a busy route which connects Albany with the inner North Shore suburbs of the Wairau Valley, Glenfield, Northcote, Birkdale and Birkenhead. The building comprises 850 square metres of high-stud showroom space and 280 square metres of mezzanine offices.

An extended cantilevered canopy extends over the building’s entrance main doors, while a mezzanine level within the building contains a reception and waiting room area, various administrative offices, a boardroom, and staff amenities such as a lunchroom and toilets.

Joyce said the evolving population demographic of the area also hinted at another use option for the site.

“The configuration of the interior layout of 281 Albany Highway would also sustain a multi-tenanted healthcare practitioners’ and medical services hub. Again, the proliferation of on-site car parking within the location would amply provide the necessary infrastructure required by a shared tenancy/high customer flow business model,” said Joyce.

“North Shore’s residential population is moving ever-northward as subdivision land becomes available, combined with multiple large aged-care residential developments and existing retirement villages encircling the area.

“These include the Metlifecare owned and operated Greenwich Gardens, Highgrove Village, Ultimate Care Rosedale Village, and Settlers Albany Retirement Village.”

Joyce said the freehold land at 281 Albany Highway was zoned Business-Light Industry under the Auckland City Council Plan. She said that in addition to the 2,744 square metres of land and premises, there was also the opportunity to separately purchase an adjacent 956-square metre residential section at 289 Albany Highway from the same vendor.

“A rezoning application for the adjoining property has been completed by the vendor, and is now ready to be lodged with the council. This documentation for converting the land use zoning from Residential – Mixed Housing Suburban to Business – Light Industry can be included in any negotiations to purchase the adjoining residential site,” Joyce said.

“Utilising the adjacent site at 289 Albany Highway, there is even the potential to further increase the existing building footprint into an L-shaped premises or create a similarly-designed building which would benefit from accessing the existing car parking space already created across 281 Albany Highway.”

The Rosedale precinct sits immediately to the south of the retail-focused suburb of Albany on Auckland’s North Shore, and comprises a mix of predominantly commercial and light industrial activity tenancies.

“With most of the Rosedale Basin now intensively developed to sustain large format industrial tenancies, any greenfield sites are now pushing north-west along the demarcation routes which currently separate industrial and residential land use. The property at 281 Albany Highway is stereotypical of this industrial land usage creep, with the neighbouring land for sale currently zoned Residential – Mixed Housing Suburban,” said Joyce.