Glass half-full in sought-after Rotorua

Two versatile industrial buildings held on separate yet adjoining titles and underpinned by a long‑established tenant, are now offered for sale within Rotorua’s favoured Mangakakahi industrial precinct.

The properties at 91 and 93 Riri Street sit on two separate 506sqm freehold titles, offering prominent road profile, on-site parking, and a combined lettable area of 760sqm.

91 Riri Street, built in 1979, provides a modernised 410sqm mix of showroom space, mezzanine offices, and a workshop. The neighbouring building at 93 Riri Street, originally constructed circa 1969 with additions in 1997, comprises a functional 350sqm warehouse with roller door access, storeroom, staff amenities and a rear grassed yard.

The entire site is occupied by established glazier business Chris Smith Glass (2024) Limited, which holds two aligned leases returning a combined $74,600 net per annum plus GST and outgoings. Both leases commenced on 1 August 2024 and run for an initial three‑year term, with four further three‑year rights of renewal extending the final expiry to July 2039.

Chris Smith Glass has been operating for more than 30 years. The founders recently retired and sold the business to a longstanding employee, and are now wishing to divest the land and buildings.

The properties are zoned Industrial which provides for a mix of light industrial activities including food processing, mechanical servicing, selling of farm, machinery, car sale yards, building depots, and lunch bars.

The properties are for sale as one lot, and will be auctioned on Tuesday 19th May with brokers Mark Slade, Damien Keenan, and Brei King of Bayleys Rotorua handling the campaign.

Mangakakahi is Rotorua’s largest and most established industrial precinct, with Slade saying the subject properties will allow a new owner to have an immediate return on investment, with long-term potential locked in given the zoning and scale of the site.

“This is a tightly-held western industrial precinct and is the closest to the central city, bounded by residential suburbs giving immediate access to a broad labour pool,” he says.

“As such, it is always in demand from tenants and there’s minimal vacancy at any one time. The adjacent sites allow the current occupier to efficiently consolidate its operations in one location, and the flexibility of the buildings is a dominant selling point.

“The building at 93 Riri Street could easily be divided into two separate tenancies, and has operated this way in the past so that gives a new owner options should the current lease structure change.”

Slade says Rotorua continues to face a well‑documented shortage of industrial‑zoned land, making this combined 1,000sqm‑plus site a highly desirable commodity for future expansion and development.

“Over the past decade, older buildings in this precinct have been demolished and replaced with more efficient footprints to support growing owner‑occupier businesses. We’ve also seen operators acquire adjoining sites to accommodate their own expansion plans.

“These two contiguous properties now on the market carry strong underlying land value, which will appeal to buyers seeking a long‑term strategic hold.”