69-105 Customs Street East
A generational opportunity to control one of Auckland, New Zealand’s most significant waterfront precinct development landholdings has been launched to the global market, giving investors the ability to secure a landmark CBD super-site and the partially completed Seascape tower at a clear market reset.
Opportunities of this scale, location and configuration are exceptionally rare, particularly in the tightly held Britomart–Downtown precinct, with the offering providing a high-impact platform with multiple pathways to unlock long-term value through execution.
Bayleys Real Estate, in conjunction with global real estate partner Knight Frank, have been exclusively appointed by receivers, Brendon Gibson and Neale Jackson of Calibre Partners, to lead the international sales process. The property is offered on an “as is, where is” basis, providing investors with a clear opportunity to assess, reposition and execute on their preferred strategy. KordaMentha Real Estate has been appointed as transaction advisor.
The offering comprises four contiguous freehold titles at 69–105 Customs Street East, totalling approximately 2,729sqm, and incorporates the partially completed Seascape tower, Ballantyne House and the prominent White Rabbit corner site. With dual frontage to Customs, Gore and Fort Streets, the landholding effectively forms a high-profile island site within Auckland’s premier waterfront precinct.
Resource Consent is in place for a mixed-use development across the three sites, with a gross floor area of circa-52,097sqm, creating a multi-component platform spanning apartments, hotel, retail, hospitality and adaptive reuse.
The residential-led Seascape tower was originally envisioned as New Zealand’s tallest residential building. The consented project incorporates 41 levels of residential apartment accommodation of various configurations, seven podium levels of office, retail, hospitality activation and VIP parking, and five levels of basement parking.
The commercial building Ballantyne House is consented for 96 hotel keys, while the character White Rabbit building is recently renovated and suitable for boutique retail, hospitality or experiential activation within the wider development.
Substantial works for the Seascape tower have already been completed, including basements, core and structural frame, enabling incoming capital to accelerate delivery and focus on value realisation.
Bayleys chairman and managing director, Mike Bayley says the offering is expected to attract strong interest from private capital, including offshore investors, with the opportunity to secure control of a substantial CBD landholding a compelling proposition given the success of other innovative mixed-use hubs in the area.
“The opportunity stands apart in the current market and is genuinely generational with the combination of scale, waterfront precinct positioning and embedded progress exceptionally difficult to replicate,” he says.
“This is a chance to secure a defining site in Auckland’s CBD and unlock its full potential through delivery, repositioning and disciplined execution.”
The scale and configuration of the site provide flexibility around end use and capital structuring, enabling investors to reposition product, introduce accommodation components and stage delivery in line with capital deployment and market conditions.
With development opportunities limited across the wider harbour aligned precinct, Bayleys capital markets lead Ryan Johnson and national director of projects Suzie Wigglesworth say the site offers a clear strategic advantage for capital seeking to establish value in a tightly-held location.
“It delivers strong optionality for incoming investors, with multiple pathways to create value and a highly flexible development platform that sets it apart,” Johnson says, noting that the freehold land status and favourable zoning further elevates the asset within the broader CBD investment narrative.
“The Business – City Centre zoning is the most intensive overlay enabling substantial scale, height, and mixed use development.”
The transformational City Rail Link is targeted to open later this year, with the landholding’s position minutes from Waitematā Station strengthening its exposure to higher rail frequency, increased pedestrian movement and broader regional access into Auckland’s downtown core. There is significant opportunity to activate buildings at street level across the site, adding to the vibrancy of the surrounding Britomart precinct.
Knight Frank Australia’s head of capital markets, Michael Kwok said the super-site is expected to generate strong cross-border interest.
“This is exactly the type of opportunity global capital is targeting — scale, control and the ability to create value through repositioning and delivery,” he says.
“Opportunities to enter at a reset point and influence outcomes at this level are extremely limited across key gateway cities.”
Dan Dixon, Knight Frank’s head of Asia Pacific capital markets, says capital from the region is currently highly active. Based in Singapore, he says Knight Frank is increasingly connecting regional capital with cross border investment opportunities and broader global capital flows.
“Well located core assets in safe haven markets are expected to remain in strong demand, with New Zealand benefiting from material advantages including a relatively low dollar against major currencies, tax efficiencies, and stable policy and governance settings.
“Capital across Asia-Pacific continues to actively seek large-scale opportunities in transparent and stable markets.”
The property is being offered via a structured International Expressions of Interest campaign closing Thursday 2nd July jointly led by Bayleys and Knight Frank, targeting institutional, private equity and high-net-worth investors globally. Find out more here
A comprehensive due diligence programme has been assembled to support investors in assessing the opportunity and its multiple delivery and repositioning pathways.
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