Sleepyhead Estate
Ohinewai
Sleepyhead Estate
An investor's dream
Each year the Waikato sees an influx of people moving to the district in search of a better place to live and work. Imagine a place where you can live, work, and play at an affordable price—all in the same neighbourhood.
That’s the vision behind Sleepyhead Estate, a brand-new 176-hectare community developed by The Comfort Group, the family-owned company behind the beloved Sleepyhead beds.
Relocating operations to the Waikato brings huge opportunities for like-minded investors and businesses looking for a strategic and connected location, whilst helping to unlock the vision of building a vibrant community for thousands, stimulating the local economy and creating thousands of new jobs.
Images: Artist's impression: Sleephead Estate (Ohinewai)
Maximising accessibility with location
Situated right by the Waikato Expressway, with strong transport links to major cities, the estate offers easy access to Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.
National retail distribution centres, large soft furnishing manufacturers and other such factory outlets would benefit from this Golden Triangle connectivity, large open spaces for purpose-built facilities with room to grow and a rural lifestyle drawcard for employees.
Surrounded by exquisite scenery of waterways, reserves and farmland, this prime location offers a taste of Waikato and the rolling tranquillity it offers.
Another opportunity for the Estate and surrounding district is the plan to bring back the historic Ohinewai train station, which would connect the community to the Hamilton-Auckland commuter rail service.
The Comfort Group requires direct access to the rail siding, which facilitates cargo loading and unloading directly from the train into their facility. Additional public access to the rail siding is provided, as some light industrial lots have direct access, fronting onto the public road. These lots are well suited for storage yards or smaller industrial operators, ensuring diverse opportunities for all kinds of industrial businesses, no matter the size.
Thriving businesses
Many of the company’s long-time suppliers are planning to migrate south, eager to maintain their relationships and leverage the opportunities the new industrial hub will offer, while continuing investment in the Sleepyhead production.
Multiple commercial opportunities have been proposed in the hub to provide development options and include factory outlet stores, a service centre, community facilities (including a community hall), a corner shop and a market garden with a cafe.
The council estimates Sleepyhead’s foam factory and residential development will contribute $200m per annum into the local economy, with Comfort Group’s estimate being higher at $1 billion expenditure through investment in infrastructure, construction, and development.
The new development will also create 2,600 new jobs, many of which will be tied to the Comfort Group’s new manufacturing facility. Residents of Huntly and beyond will also benefit from this influx of employment opportunities.
Unlocking affordable housing
At the heart of this project is the small town of Ohinewai, whose population is estimated to grow from around 200 to more than 3,000 upon the completion of the estate.
With additional commercial investment, The Sleepyhead Estate is set to build 1100 homes in its vibrant residential hub to house the expected population growth. The goal is to keep house prices below $500,000, more than $250,000 below the average price for a house in the district.
At Sleepyhead’s Auckland factories, some staff have worked for the company all their adult lives, and some families have worked there for multiple generations, but amidst the housing crisis, some of these staff haven’t been able to buy homes in Auckland.
Images: Artist's impression: Sleephead Estate (Ohinewai)
Dreams to reality
Sleepyhead Estate represents a transformative vision that offers an unparalleled opportunity to a range of investors looking for a strategic edge with a location that has the space to accommodate exponential growth.
This super-hub will be a catalyst for job creation in the Waikato district, and investors looking to align closely with community aspirations and long-term sustainability can be a part of this vision which values social and environmental outcomes.
