63% of lots at Spedding Road precinct sold ahead of completion.

Nearly two-thirds of the lots at Auckland’s newest industrial precinct have been snapped up five months before its completion.

Spedding Road in Whenuapai is the city’s largest greenfield industrial development north of the airport.

$56m investment

Oyster Capital, which owns the land, has invested $56 million in upgrades to the area’s key infrastructure, lifting its connectivity to Auckland City and its main state highways south, east and north.

Oyster Capital director Cameron Wilson said the uptake for the precinct had exceeded expectations with 63% of lots already purchased ahead of completion in July.

“Given the economic environment as well as the fact it's not finished yet, it's an extraordinary take-up.

“When we started building work in 2023 it was pretty uncertain how it might be accepted by the market and there were some sleepless nights.”

Northwest growth corridor

Oyster Capital, which pre-develops and develops land for residential and commercial property projects across the country, has invested in the Northwest growth corridor for the past 14 years.

Spedding Road complements the 1000-household development Oyster Capital completed in 2023 in Whenuapai.

It has proved to be an attractive location for established businesses seeking to expand and future-proof their operations with its proximity to major highways, the Westgate retail centre and several residential developments.

From farmland to business hub

Oyster Capital first came across the Spedding Road site in 2013, Wilson said.

While initially mulling a residential development, Oyster Capital quickly realised its potential to become Auckland’s next major business growth precinct with the former Waitākere District Council identifying it as a potential employment hub.

The company took another site across the road for which it spent the next decade developing housing for the area’s rapidly growing population.

In 2019, Oyster Capital returned to the Spedding Road opportunity after several organisations tried and failed to develop the land.

It worked with the farming family who had owned the land for 40 years to rezone it and go through the consenting process to turn it into an industrial zone, which took about four years.

“They trusted us and gave us the time to make it happen,” Wilson said.

Room to expand

Spedding Industrial, with its 50ha of contiguous land relatively close to the city, offers a rare opportunity for owner-occupiers and developers to work with large block sizes, Wilson said.

Oyster Capital has been flooded with enquiries from companies looking at upscaling from existing sites, particularly from Albany, as well as logistics and transport-related companies.

Spedding Industrial is set to be a big contributor to an expected 32,000 extra jobs across industrial, commercial, retail and other sectors to be created in the area by 2038.

NZX-listed Property for Industry (PFI) was the first investor to buy land at the precinct, taking on 5.8ha.

PFI wanted to secure a future pipeline of industrial buildings and Spedding Road was the only place in Auckland that could offer the scale they required, Wilson said.

Convenient location

CDB Group is another established Auckland business purchasing a lot.

The group has been developing and distributing brands such as SodaStream, NutriBullet and GoPro throughout New Zealand and Australia since 2000.

Managing director Mark Rice said CDB had been located in the Albany area for close to 25 years.

Spedding Road, with its proximity to the motorway network, was the perfect location to increase capacity while remaining convenient for staff and transport providers.

“The site allows us to build a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in a very desirable location in the Northwest of Auckland.”

CDB’s site spans about two hectares and will have a finished floor area of approximately 18,000sq m across warehouse, breezeway, mezzanines, and office spaces.

Upgrades

Oyster Capital invested in nine major transport upgrades in the Spedding area, including links to Brigham Creek Road and Fred Taylor Drive, and an extension of Spedding Road adding another connection between State Highways 16 and 18.

“Connecting these two State Highways was the most important aspect for our clientele because businesses in light industrial zones are invariably reliant on transport and connectivity,” Wilson said.

It also replaced the Brigham Creek Road bridge, making it wider and safer, and adding pedestrian and bike lanes.

“It’s a significant improvement on what was a pretty scary little bridge at the best of times. It will have a huge impact on traffic flow,” Wilson said.

Wetlands preservation

Oyster Capital has committed to the preservation of natural wetlands in the area.

It has completed 5.3ha of comprehensive enhancement riparian planting along the Sinton Stream and Totara Creek.

It will also retain 7488sq m of existing natural wetlands on which it will plant native vegetation.

More info: speddingroad.co.nz