Foodstuffs warehouse on market

One of Wellington’s biggest warehouses is up for sale.

Foodstuffs North Island’s enormous distribution centre at 57 Kiln Street in Silverstream offers just under 23,500 square metres of covered space.

The 4.04 hectare site is now too big for the firm’s needs, general manager of property development Lindsay Rowles said.

‘‘Foodstuffs is committed to maintaining its Wellington operations, but no longer requires the entire ... complex,’’ he said.

‘‘Given the strength of the current property market, it’s a good time for us to sell our Kiln St property and reinvest the funds in our store network.’’

Rowles said Foodstuffs was considering moving its 90-odd office staff elsewhere in the Hutt Valley, but it was also open to leasing back at least part of the space to house its bottling plant and as temporary office space.

Foodstuffs has used the site to distribute supplies for its New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square supermarkets throughout the lower North Island.

On offer are 12,228sqm of high stud warehousing, another 5420sqm of low stud warehousing and around 5000sqm of office space. The site comes with 167 car parks.

Fraser Press of Bayleys Wellington said the warehouse had been built by Foodstuffs in the late 1970s or early 1980s and added to over time.

‘‘The sheer size and scale of the site and the building infrastructure lends itself to a corporate in the logistics, freight-forwarding, or fast moving consumer goods sectors,’’ he said.

‘‘The property has been immaculately maintained throughout its lifespan as one would expect, bearing in mind the various rigorous hygiene and foods safety regulations governing contents stored there.’’

Press said the Silverstream site was well place with urban population and commercial growth pushing northward up the Hutt valleys, and in parallel along the Kapiti Coast.

The property had an estimated rental income of $1.3 million a year.

Tenders close on April 12.