Steady income in popular township
One of Akaroa’s early commercial buildings, housing the well-known Akaroa Cooking School, is on the market after 25 years’ ownership by a Canterbury family.
The building, fully refurbished in 2004, also accommodates the Akaroa Village Inn reception. Upstairs it has two self-contained apartments, each with a balcony overlooking Akaroa wharf.
The building is owned by Anna and Mark Macauley, according to Companies Office records.
Colliers International sales broker Courtney Doig said properties were tightly held in the popular seaside township.
‘‘After a long-term tenure within the same family, they’ve decided to sell. The building is producing multiple steady income streams and we think there’s plenty of potential for future upside. The interior spaces could be reconfigured and the rear storage area could also be opened to the courtyard space behind the building,’’ she said.
The commercial Banks Peninsula zoning allowed for a range of commercial and community activities. The building area covered 408 square metres on the 688sqm freehold site and had seven car parks. Total net income was about $83,000.
The capital valuation is $1.47 million, according to Christchurch City Council information.
These days Akaroa, founded in 1840 by French settlers, hosts thousands of cruise-ship visitors from October through to April.
The building has had a rich history. It was built before 1882 by prominent local businessman James Garwood, according to city council records.
He also established the first hotel at The Hilltop, on the way to Akaroa from Christchurch, and was briefly Akaroa’s mayor.
It functioned as a general store, a high school from 1883-1900, a community technical college from 1906-09, and later on as part of the Brassells Motel from 1974, council records said. The council has the building as a significant heritage item in its District Plan for its association with Garwood and the development of the commercial centre of Akaroa, Canterbury’s oldest town.
It is scheduled for auction on October 25, unless sold prior.