Media Release
NZ Transport Agency Wellington Regional Office

11 December 2009

Inner City Bypass Heritage Properties available for sale in New Year

The much anticipated sale of the heritage properties relocated and restored as part of the SH1 Inner City Bypass Project will finally occur in early 2010.

Interested would-be buyers will be in a position to acquire a piece of Wellington history in February next year when the properties are sold by tender on behalf of the Crown by the commercial division of Bayleys Wellington.

Wellington State Highways Manager Rob Whight says the sale of these properties follows the completion of a standard process for the sale of surplus Crown-owned land.

“Under this process, properties were offered for sale to former owners and land was assessed for interest by the Office of Treaty Settlements. Land not acquired by either former owners or iwi during this process is now being offered for sale to the general public,” he says

Mr Whight says he appreciates people have been waiting for this announcement for some time.

“It’s been a complex process for a number of reasons, including that many buildings have been moved and straddle original property boundaries requiring further work to prepare new property titles. This has meant we needed extra time that other, straight forward property sale processes would not need.”

“We appreciate how patient interested buyers have been through this process and look forward to seeing the buildings start a new life as a result of the Inner City Bypass project.”

Each of the properties to be sold range in size, function and grandeur. They include modest workers’ cottages, retail premises or stately residences. Each has been externally restored following a meticulous and empathetic project with the interiors awaiting input from new owners according to their eventual use.

“We have left the interiors of these buildings as blank canvases allowing the new owners to redecorate them for either residential or commercial purposes,” Mr Whight says.

Expressions of interest in the properties can be registered with Bayleys Wellington prior to the start of the tendering period at the end of January 2010.

ENDS

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