Imposing character office conversion on the market for sale

Imposing character office conversion on the market for sale

A large classical character villa located in what has become one of Auckland city fringe’s boutique commercial business strips has been placed on the market for sale.

The grand two-storey premises - built in the early 1900s – is on the busy Jervois Road strip running between Three Lamps corner in Ponsonby and Curran Street corner in what has become a mix of hospitality, fashion, and high-end retail stores interspersed with small owner-operated professional service business premises.

The 340 square metre building sits on 653 square metres of land and has six car parks available to the four various tenants. Tenants occupying the building are:

• Law firm Gregory John Simon which has a three year lease expiring in August 2015 and a further three year right of renewal, generating an annual rental of $59,756.
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• Bridge City Interior and Construction Limited which has a three year lease expiring in August 2015 and a further three year right off renewal, generating an annual rental of $24,730.
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• An established medical tenant, Well for Life Limited which has two year lease expiring in August 2014 and three further two year rights of renewal, generating annual rental of $32,950.
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• Pogson Health Services Limited which has a month-to-month lease generating annual rental of $5200.
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The 88 Jervois Road property is being marketed for sale by Deadline Private Treaty by Bayleys Central Auckland sales people Alan Haydock and Cameron Melhuish, with offers closing on March 5.

Alan Haydock said the sizeable building had undergone considerable interior refurbishment in recent years to create nine separate office spaces and a range of communal amenities.

The renovation also involved enhancing many of the building’s original interior features – such as the native timber floors, doors, wall paneling and impressive internal staircase. The exterior of the property is clad in weatherboard with tile roofing, while the car parking area features an attractive crushed white stone.

The building’s ground floor has a net lettable plate of approximately 200 square metres – comprising a central hallway providing access to the various offices, a shared boardroom, kitchen and bathroom facilities. Upstairs has a net lettable floor area of approximately 140 square metres in a similar configuration with views over the neighbourhood and the Waitemata Harbour.

Alan Haydock said the imposingly-grand home-turned-office complex had the flexibility to either continue in its current format as an investment, or the potential to be incorporated into a single company premises by an owner/occupier business looking to relocate into a creative workspace close to the city fringe.

“The building, when originally constructed as a residence in the 1920s, was representative of the populous demographic in Herne Bay at the turn of last century - when the area was home to some of the more affluent and professional members of Auckland society. Ironically, nothing much has changed in that respect in almost 100 years,” Alan Haydock said.

“What we have seen, as Auckland’s commercial zones have both fragmented and expanded, is the increase in attractiveness of character commercial premises based on major arterial routes city-wide. This has seen the likes of evolution of boutique private health clinics, small accountancy and legal firms, advertising and design studios, and work-from home businesses, which capitalize on being high profile yet local.

“Along Jervois Road for example, many former homes have been converted into a range of business premises – ranging from a magazine publisher, and art studio, to a restaurant and accounting firm.

“A high traffic flow along Jervois Road - supported by an affluent catchment area in all surrounding directions - ensures that for residential-to-commercial conversions, there is always likely to be strong tenant demand from small owner-operated businesses whose clientele is derived from adjoining neighbourhoods.”

Cameron Melhuish said the high profile location of the boutique premises– virtually opposite the Shelley Beach Road exit point from the Auckland Harbour Bridge – meant it was well serviced by public transport and was easily accessed by private vehicle users.

“The addition of substantial branding signage and naming rights identification, subject to any council consents, is certainly an option for any future ownership of the building,” Mr Melhuish said.

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