Motor dealership precinct at Te Rapa revs up

Friday, 2 November 2018

A planned new development at Te Rapa on the outskirts of Hamilton.

More of Hamilton's motor retailers will be based at the Te Rapa industrial estate in west Hamilton following a property purchase by the Ebbett Waikato dealership.

Ebbett bought 25,000 square metres on the corner of Te Kowhai Rd and Tasman Rd, joining half a dozen other motor franchises clustered north of The Base shopping centre at Te Rapa.

Ebbett's group managing director Ben van den Engel said that his company also had an agreement with two other investors including Foster Construction to redevelop the vacant 10,000sqm central city property after relocating to Te Rapa.

'We have been on the same site for a long time. Over the years we had bought neighbouring properties as they became available. But these are now old buildings. The last major renovation was in 2002 and the problem is we're short of room.

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'We would have to knock things down to redevelop. The car retail scene has changed dramatically in recent years and it just doesn't make economic sense to do a one-level development in the central city,' he said.

'We had talked on and off over the years about moving to a bigger site. We bought the Hamilton East corner site on Grey and Clyde Streets and established the Audi and Volkswagen dealership which has been very successful and we moved Waikato Toyota, which was also in a run-down building, to the new Toyota and Lexus showrooms at the Te Rapa Gateway which are looking fantastic.'

Van den Engel said the 25,000sqm site would allow space for a 'one-stop shop' including Ebbett's Holden dealership, showrooms, tyres and panel shop, with ease of access for customers to The Base nearby and the growing urban area at Rotokauri.

The company was currently working on drawings for the site and hoped to open mid to late 2020.

'It is a bit of a wrench for us. The company was established in 1928 and we've had 90 years in the CBD.'

Foster Constructions development director Rhys Harvey is leading the management for the soon-to-be vacant 10,000sqm Ebbett premises on the corner of Anglesea, Hood and Alexandra streets.

'It is a fabulous location. There are not many big pieces of land available in the central city to create a mix of office and retail uses with great amenities for those working, visiting and doing business.

'The vision is to create a diverse and vibrant business and retail precinct that will not only provide top quality office space. This will be achieved through the provision of attractive common areas, boulevards with retail, food and beverage offerings and exercise facilities.'

Harvey said a shortage of A-grade office space was a driving factor, plus tenant demand from Hamilton and outside the city.

'There is a lot of pent-up demand for good space. We're looking at creating a premier business park. We have inquiry from businesses in Hamilton along with national and international corporations.

'A lot of national companies are looking for second sites as Hamilton's costs per square metre are about half those of Auckland. We're located in the golden triangle of road and rail networks between Auckland and Tauranga.'

The former Ebbett's site will be cleared and the partnership is looking to progress the development with speed, he said.