As Newmarket evolved to become one of the country’s premier lifestyle, entertainment and shopping precincts, former light industrial sites in the central blocks running off the main Broadway strip were proactively acquired by developers and morphed to new uses effectively rewriting the look and feel of the suburb.

When Auckland timber merchants Cashmore Bros. Limited relocated their successful timber finishing business to Kent Street in the heart of Newmarket more than 100 years ago, they could not have foreseen how the immediate area would mature and intensify in the ensuing century.

Its finishing yard, storage and offices originally rubbed shoulders with businesses like milk company Ambury’s, George Kent and Sons Bakery, Chenery Sheetmetals and Charles Lees and Co’s iron foundry. Now, fashion boutiques, eateries and specialist retail stores define the neighbourhood.

Anticipating the changing landscape, Cashmore’s family-owned timber business exited Newmarket some 23 years ago, with part of the site subdivided and sold, and 15 Kent Street retained. It comprises the original two-level offices, part of the original warehousing, and a public carparking operation off Teed Street, all on circa-2,149sqm of freehold land.

Leased to multiple tenants, with gross holding income of $269,000 plus GST per annum, the property is for sale by tender (unless sold prior), closing Thursday 13th March through Graeme Perigo and Cameron Melhuish of Bayleys.

The centrally located, dual-access site is adjacent to the vibrant boutique laneways retail quarter and the Westfield Newmarket shopping centre.

“With the commercial and retail precinct surrounding Kent Street coming of age, and the site’s Business – Metropolitan Centre zoning redefining what is possible, this property is seriously for sale,” says Perigo.

“This is a legacy landholding with compelling underlying fundamentals, within the coveted double grammar zone, and providing scope for a mixed use residential/retail/commercial development project to optimise the location.”

Active in the Auckland metropolitan market for more than 20 years, Melhuish says 15 Kent Street is arguably the best development site remaining in Newmarket given the intensification of the broader area and the site’s prominent position.

“The true value lies in the land and as there is holding income in place, could be a pre-emptive buy for a developer ahead of an inevitable cyclical upswing.

“Newmarket has seen strong investment by private and institutional capital, despite market fluctuations. Precinct Properties is leveraging the suburb’s connectivity and amenity credentials and embarking on a luxury residential development near the Auckland Domain, and The University of Auckland continues to grow its engineering, science and health technologies-focused Newmarket campus.”

Melhuish says Auckland Council favours development on sites with dual access for streamlined ingress/egress along with favourable light and air credentials, so the generous, flat site is well-positioned.

“Give it two years, and the market will look completely different. With the big players confidently diversifying into residential projects, and developers actively exploring opportunities, this property could pave the way to an innovative development to take advantage of what Newmarket offers as a place to live, work, learn, shop and play.”

The original Kent Street-facing Cashmore’s building was designed by architectural firm Massey Beatson Rix-Trott and Carter, responsible for many of Auckland’s more distinctive residential and commercial projects, and built in the 1940s. The building has nods to the Art Deco movement with its decorative upper motifs and flat roof.

Cashmore Bros. Ltd provided timber for countless Auckland homes, plus high-profile buildings like the Civic Theatre and Mercy Hospital.