Passive investment in Riccarton with rental growth upside
A fully leased freehold Christchurch commercial property, directly across the road from Westfield Riccarton, has been placed on the market for sale providing a prime passive opportunity for a new owner.
Occupying land area of 1175 square metres, the property comprises an 822.4sqm two-storey building at 130 Riccarton Road with two ground floor retail tenancies and offices above, plus an adjacent 93.2sqm single-level building at 2 Kauri Street.
Running in behind the two buildings and accessed off Kauri Street are 31 sealed car parks allocated across the individual tenancies. This is a standout feature of the offering, with agents saying it’s a rarity in Riccarton and a quality which underpins the overall value opportunity of the property, which has favourable Commercial Core zoning.
The retail tenancies fronting Riccarton Road are occupied by two longstanding Christchurch businesses – bookshop Manna Christian Stores, and framing specialists Art and Frame which has been in occupation for circa-40 years. The upstairs offices are leased to GPS company Fleetpin, while the Kauri Street tenancy is home to a 24-hour laundromat.
Ryan Kerr and William Wallace of Bayleys Christchurch are marketing the property via deadline private treaty closing Thursday 18th April, unless sold prior.
With Riccarton Road one of Christchurch’s busiest arterials, Kerr says the profile this gives to the property for sale has cemented its sound leasing history and underscores the enduring popularity of the location.
“The art store/framers and bookshop and have become destination retailers and the location clearly works well for them, as evidenced by the lease commitments with final expiries out to 2030 and 2033 respectively.
“Likewise, the other two occupiers also have longer term leases, with the property as a whole returning annual net income of $242,985pa plus GST and outgoings, plus good room for further rental growth through inbuilt lease provisions.”
Seismically, the Kauri Street component of the property is assessed at 85% of new building standard and the Riccarton Road at 70%.
Kerr says the Christchurch commercial property market is seeing strong activity, particularly for truly passive opportunities such as this one.
“It’s a bottom-drawer property with prime credentials given the carparking ratio, seismic integrity, split-risk tenancies and pivotal location across from Westfield Riccarton.
“Westfield has 185 retailers, clocks up 10,000,000 annual customer visits, and taps into a total accessible catchment of 530,000 residents.
“That’s an incredibly useful base for niche retailers to springboard off and also supports the fact that property in Riccarton Road is traditionally very tightly held.”
Riccarton is around 3.5km west of the Christchurch city centre, borders the western side of Hagley Park and draws on the suburbs of Addington, Ilam and Fendalton.
There’s mainly residential development to the north of the subject property, with predominantly retail and motel accommodation to the southeast and west.