Opportunity beckons on Hutt Rd
The Hutt Rd-Thorndon area is quickly becoming one of the city’s most active commercial property hotspots.
The most recent example is 180 Hutt Rd, where listed property fund Argosy will rebuild and expand its long-held warehouse.
Currently leased to Placemakers, the project will cost $9.39 million and create a space of almost 5000sqm, increasing its value to $18m. The tenant will remain on site.
Closer to town, a pair of adjacent properties with strong development potential are up for sale, together or individually.
Both are tenanted: 59 Hutt Rd spans 754 square metres and is leased to Civic Ltd, while 61 Hutt Rd spans 1101sqm and is leased to Target Furniture.
Hutt Rd is known for its cluster of furniture and home improvement outlets and the refurbishment or redevelopment of the two sites could further the area’s revitalisation, JLL agent Ulf Fu¨ hrer said.
‘‘Lately we’ve seen similar activity on Hutt Rd, with the redevelopment of the Motorsport building, the upgrade of the Glengarry Wines site, and the recent demolition of Flamingo Function Centre which will make way for a new development.’’
Being on one of Wellington’s key arterial routes, thee sites had plenty of potential, Fu¨ hrer added.
Both sites were visible from State Highway 1, which meant they could also be used for billboard advertising.
They also both had strong holding incomes which could give an investor time to develop at their own pace.
Pipitea and Thorndon Quay were regarded as one of Wellington’s top bulk retail locations, with good parking and proximity to the CBD, Fu¨ hrer said.
Fu¨ hrer is also handling the sale of a two-level retail and residential property at 188 Thorndon Quay.
The property is fully tenanted, with furniture retailer Bedstop occupying the 306 sqm ground floor, and two loft-style apartments above.
A courtyard separates the two apartments, which have a combined area of 294 sqm.
Fu¨ rher said that as a mixed use property, it was a good option for first-time investors wanting to get into the commercial property market..
‘‘It allows an investor to have a foot firmly in both camps, which limits the risk of investment within an ever-changing property market.’’
’’At the moment, there is the least number of residential properties on the market that we’ve seen for 30 years – this time last year there were almost a thousand more properties on the market.’’
Other recent sales in the area. 240 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea A 850 sqm two level retail/office building on a 769sqm freehold site has been sold for $2.2m by Rex Fowler & Sam McIlroy of Colliers International.
238 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea A 810 sqm retail/office building on a 887sqm freehold site has been sold for $3.13m by Rex Fowler, Sam McIlroy & Georgina Young of Colliers International. The sale price represented a yield of 7.37 per cent.