One of the biggest retail property blocks in New Plymouth’s central business district has been placed on the market for sale.
The 4,180 square metre building sits on a 4,974 square metre site running between Molesworth, Gill, and High streets, and houses two prominent retailers sharing 64 on-site car parks. The area contains some of New Plymouth’s most well-known bulk retailers – including Plumbing World, farm machinery distributor CB Norwoods, and Bridgestone Tyre Centre.
The building has a Category A seismic rating and generates a combined annual rental revenue of $433,534 plus GST, comprising of :
· Fabric and craft retailer Spotlight – currently leasing 2,325 square metres of the building through until 2021 with three further six-year rights of renewal, generating an annual rental of $333,931.
· Infant-wear and nursery furniture specialist The Baby Factory – currently leasing 568 square metres of the building through until 2021 with two further four-year rights of renewal, generating annual rental of $62,803.
· Brochure and catalogue design and print firm RAZZ Print – currently leasing 388 square metres of the building through until June 2017 with a further three-year right of renewal, generating annual rental of $29,000.
and
· High street bank TSB – currently leasing 200 square metres of the building through until June 2017 with a six-month right of renewal, generating annual rental of $6,800.
The freehold land, and buildings are now being marketed for sale by negotiation through Bayleys Taranaki. Salesperson Iain Taylor says the large open-plan format of the property lent itself to the retailing styles of both Spotlight and The Baby Factory with their individual requirements for large floor plates, while the more industrial nature of the basement level suited light industrial tenant RAZZ Print. The remaining smaller portion of the basement was let as a storage facility to TSB.
“It’s a very balanced tenancy mix. Both Spotlight and The Baby Factory have their own, administrative offices staffrooms, toilets and storeroom amenities within their respective premises,” Mr Taylor says.
“Molesworth Street is a heavy traffic haulage route linking Port Taranaki to the Bell Block industrial belt just north of the city. Having three street frontages – only two of which are utilised for direct vehicle access – is advantageous in the long term for this location.
“Obviously, with secure and diversified tenants currently in place, there is substantial income from an investment perspective. Long term, there is development potential – which could range from the construction of a branded major accommodation provider, through to a smaller-tenanted retail hub featuring convenience stores and outlets rather than the current large destination tenancies.
“The evolution of New Plymouth’s CBD tenancy profile, along with changing societal habits, will ultimately dictate where this location could head in terms of usage, but in the short term the holding income pool is among the highest in the city.”
The property has a September 2016 New Plymouth City Council rating valuation of $4.82 million – comprising of $3.08 million for the land and $1.74 million for the building.
Mr Taylor says the Spotlight and Baby Factory tenancies were configured in an ‘L’ shaped format – enabling them to be potentially strata-titled. He said the building was constructed in the late 1990s and had been subject to a regular maintenance programme – which ensured the property was in both an excellent aesthetic and structural condition.
“The tenancies are contained in straightforward rectangular formats, while the apex-roofing allows for efficient access to the air cooling and ducting units positioned above,” he says.
“The central positioning of the carpark – serving both retail tenancies immediately outside their front doors – creates not only a highly-visible entry point to their premises, but also allows for the pooling of space availability rather than car parking being specifically allocated,” Mr Taylor says.
“There is also a considerable amount of street parking on the three roads surrounding the property. All up, this takes the number of potential car parks to almost 100.”
