Plans for 'industrial city' at Burnside

The former Burnside freezing works site in Dunedin could become an "industrial city", with potential uses including a movie set, mass storage and parking, after Auckland property investors announced plans for the multimillion-dollar site.

Kaikorai Valley Properties Ltd, set up in April and owned by three Auckland-based men, plans to sign off on the 58ha property, owned by Silver Fern Farms, at the end of this month.

The 126-year-old venison processing plant on the site was closed in May last year with the loss of 138 jobs.

The site consists of 15ha zoned industrial land and 43ha zoned rural.

According to Dunedin City Council rating information, the industrial zoned land has a capital value of $4.1 million and a land value of $3.6 million.

Co-founder of the Kaikorai Industrial Park Stephen Weir said he and shareholders Raj Nair and Ezra Eini had been negotiating for the site for about seven months.

They had been using their contacts to garner interest in the site, with three businesses already signing lease contracts, eight or nine others showing interest, and some tenants, who could not be named, ready to move in immediately, he said.

The company's website said the development was "the first stage of a long-term industrial opportunity on the Burnside site".

Mr Weir said there were about 16 buildings on the site and potential for those to be renovated to meet the needs of tenants.

Some of the machinery used at the freezing works was still at the site.

Mr Weir, who has expertise in the IT industry, said there had been interest from movie producers who saw the potential in some of the soundproof buildings and because of the rail access to the site, from a car wrecker who liked the idea of cheaper rent and large amounts of covered storage space, from a man with 10,000 cows who wanted space for a milk-processing plant, and from other businesses interested in mass storage and freezer space.

There was also potential for a supermarket.

He said the buildings and the site were "a huge opportunity" they could not pass up.

The website he had developed highlights the park's proximity to the city centre (a 10-minute drive), its direct links to the motorway, competitive rentals and security.

"At the early stage of the redevelopment of the works, any new tenant is able to have his or her specifications/needs accommodated," the website says.

There are opportunities for "virtually any size storage, or industrial applications or sealed yard space".