Heritage facade sells but no takers for Dux
A historic facade – minus the building – at 201 High St in Christchurch has sold at auction.
But the restored character building that houses the Dux Central, in Christchurch’s former Poplar Lane hospitality precinct, failed to sell.
Four out of six properties offered at the Colliers International auction were sold.
There were five bidders for the propped-up High St facade plus 144 square metres of land. The final public bid reached $540,000 before the vendor and new owner struck an agreement behind closed doors at a higher figure.
Colliers agent Courtenay Doig said she was bound by confidentiality but the land price equated to more than $375 per sqm, which was a healthy level for commercial land in the neighbourhood.
The property was owned by antique dealer Barry Watson for nearly 40 years, and was home to his auction house and real estate agency in the early 1980s.
In the 2000s, it housed high-end fashion boutique Victoria Black but the earthquakes destroyed most of the old masonry buildings along High St.
After the earthquakes, the body of the building was demolished but the facade was propped up and preserved. It is one of the few surviving heritage facades on High St.
The facade was designed by former Christchurch architectural practice Clarkson and Ballantyne and built in 1900. It has two bays at first-floor level and large arched windows flanked by pilasters adorned with relief work. Developer Shaun Stockman’s company bought it and will incorporate the facade into a new building.
The Dux complex, which remains on the market, incorporates Dux Central, a cocktail lounge bar, Pot Sticker Dumpling Bar, and Sal’s Authentic New York Pizza.
The old building has been restored to 100 per cent of the new building standard. It is owned by developers Patrick Fontein and Paul Naylor, both of Studio D4, who hope to use the sale proceeds to redevelop the earthquakedamaged Inland Revenue building in Cashel St.
Colliers’ Christchurch general manager, Mark Macauley, discounted any effect of the new Government on commercial property sales. The latest national figures show a reduction in sales throughout 2017.
Researchers from real estate firm CBRE said none of the foreign ownership restrictions mentioned by the Government relate specifically to commercial property.
‘‘However, the market may take time to understand this, after the dramatic and inaccurate media headlines in the weeks following the coalition announcement,’’ CBRE head of research Zoltan Moricz said.
Meanwhile, a newly built KFC restaurant in Rolleston fetched
$3.2 million. The 2781sqm freehold property is on a new 10-year lease to Restaurant Brands with rights of renewal until 2063, returning
$170,000 a year.
The new owner will achieve a 5.28 per cent yield on investment, which was ‘‘exceptional’’, Macauley said.
A motel consisting of 12 units on Papanui Rd with a land area of 1517sqm sold for $1.7m on an ‘‘as is, where is’’ basis.