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Buyer of East Auckland hub to retain local link
Buyer of East Auckland hub to retain local link
One of the country’s longest established shopping centres has been sold to Singapore-based investors for $96 million.
Pakuranga Plaza has been purchased by Stanley Tan, CEO of Global Yellow Pages Ltd. and Pang Yoke Min of Southeast Asian investment group GYP Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Yellow Pages Ltd. with strong ties to New Zealand.
The popular East Auckland shopping centre was sold by way of private treaty through Bayleys Real Estate. It occupies a high profile site of just under four hectares, on the corner of arterial routes Ti Rakau Drive and Pakuranga Road, and has served customers since it first opened in 1965.
Vendors Ross and Dallas Pendergrast of Ladstone Holdings have undertaken extensive renovations over the past 18 months and repositioned the centre as a community-oriented retail and business hub led by flagship retailers Farmers, The Warehouse and Countdown.
Kim Bennett, CEO of Ladstone Holdings, says the repositioning came at the culmination of a lengthy public engagement process geared at tailoring the plaza according to feedback from passionate locals.
“We really listened to the views of the Pakuranga community and underwent a comprehensive enhancement programme based around the public vision for the plaza. The sale acknowledges our efforts to reposition the plaza as a unique community hub,” Mr Bennett says.
The new owners have expressed a commitment to preserving and building upon the vendors’ vision for the plaza to serve as a shopping centre that identifies strongly with the Pakuranga and Howick communities.
“There are a multitude of opportunities regarding the future development of the site; including the possibility of hotels, residential accommodation, office blocks and on-site entertainment to make Pakuranga Plaza a one stop destination,” Mr Tan says.
The centre is made up of three sections including the main shopping mall and four-level Plaza Tower which accommodates a number of office tenants, the Warehouse plaza incorporating a specialty retail strip and the standalone Plaza business centre housing ANZ Bank and additional office tenants.
Under the management of Bayleys Property Services, the Pakuranga Plaza will continue to operate within the existing framework of dedicated and experienced local staff.
Alongside the appeal of steady cash flow and a body of existing tenants that includes international, national and local retailers, Pakuranga Plaza lies in an area earmarked for future development.
David Bayley, executive director of Bayleys Real Estate, says the level of interest in the property was reflective of its potential to accrue value naturally, with the growth in population and ease of access given improvements in local transport infrastructure.
“However, there is also scope to capitalise on the existing plaza by adding residential accommodation in line with zoning changes included in the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan,” Mr Bayley says.
Auckland Council has identified the site for more intensive residential development under a mixed-use Town Centre zoning.
The proposed zoning change permits the construction of residential buildings of up to 12 storeys and a wider range of leisure facilities.
Ladstone Holdings has already commissioned concept plans to explore the possibility of a staged development comprised of five 10 to 12 storey apartment buildings above the existing mall and on the north eastern corner of the site.
The concept provides for up to 1000 apartments and is being considered by Mr Tan and his associates to cater for substantial population growth over the next decade.
East Auckland areas within Pakuranga Plaza’s immediate catchment area are forecast to grow by around 31 percent to the year 2024. The centre currently serves an estimated five million visitors a year.
Mr Tan is interested in exploring opportunities to meet the demand for increased amenities in line with Auckland Council’s plan to make Pakuranga a more vibrant urban district.
Any development will be supported by significant improvements in the area’s transport infrastructure, led by the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) and the exciting prospect of a dedicated busway between Panmure Station and the Pakuranga town centre.
ENDS
Bayleys Real Estate
New Zealand
Bayleys is New Zealand's largest full-service real estate company. We offer expertise in the marketing and sale of a wide range of property, including residential real estate, farms and lifestyle blocks, and commercial and industrial property. This includes tourism and business sales such as hotels and motels. We also cover the real estate markets in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.
Bayleys also provides a complete property and facilities service including property management and valuations teams focused on achieving both Owner and Tenant satisfaction.
No other real estate company can match our breadth of coverage across all market sectors throughout New Zealand.
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