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Retail space in Matakana will expand when a development at 44 Matakana Valley Road comes online around the end of next month.
The 4400sqm site, which is being developed by the Mortimer family, will comprise four retail shops, as well as the former race car workshop and heritage cottage at the rear of the property, which is currently used as office space.
Graham Sawell, of Pyramidz Architecture, designed the shops.
“His brief was to come up with something that was appropriate to the surrounding landscape, which also reflected Matakana’s heritage,” Warwick Mortimer says. “We think he’s done a fantastic job. The polished floors, exposed beans, large macrocarpa posts, white walls and corrugated iron finish will give the building a rustic feel. It will be a chic ‘old looking’ place.”
The shops range in size from 125sqm to 255sqm, and the leases will be comparable with other similar retail spaces in the village.
The development was first mooted two years ago, but was put on hold when one of the major tenants withdrew. As it turns out, Warwick says it was probably a blessing in disguise.
“This feels like the right time for this sort of development in Matakana. If NZ has a rock star economy, then Matakana is a rock star area. This is where Aucklanders want to come to shop, relax and go to the beach, and the town’s transition from a sleepy little hollow to what we have today has been paced.
“The controlled progression has been its success. Rodney District and Auckland Council have to take some of the credit for this – not because they have been innovative, but their ‘stalling’ has meant people with the right ideas like Richard Didsbury have had the chance to invest here.”
The Mortimer family has an assortment of business interests, ranging from a Paeroa water bottling plant that exports to the US to Mortimer Motorsports, which competes nationally and internationally. They’ve had a connection with the area for more than 40 years and were involved in developments at Woodcocks Road, Snells Beach, Jones Road Omaha and the Di Andre subdivision at Omaha.
