Building to bank on in high profile Broadway

The National Bank is the anchor tenant at 187-193 Broadway, occupying the ground-floor retail unit and first floor offices. Photo / Supplied

One of Newmarket's high-profile Broadway office buildings, with the National Bank as its anchor tenant, is up for sale for the first time in 10 years.

Bayleys marketing agent Paul Hain says the seven-level complex at 187-193 Broadway has a wide street frontage for Newmarket at 27 metres and is located in the retail heart of Newmarket in an area that has the precinct's highest pedestrian traffic count.

The modern, fully leased building was constructed in 1991 and has a good parking ratio for the area with 34 basement parking spaces and six visitor car parks outside at ground level at the rear of the building.

For the past 10 years, the property has been owned by a private investor who is only divesting of it because he has acquired larger industrial properties. Hain has the property for sale by tender as part of Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio, closing on September 23, unless sold prior.

He says in addition to its prime location, the National Bank building is one of Newmarket's best quality properties featuring a generous amount of granite, glass and marble in the interior and exterior and offering extensive views from the upper floors.

"It is also a freehold, stand-alone property which is very much an added bonus, given that a lot of Newmarket property is leasehold," he adds.

The building has five levels encompassing 2083sq m of modern, air-conditioned office space, a prime 576sq m ground floor retail unit occupied by the bank and secure basement parking.

The property is currently producing net annual income of about $1.055 million.

The National Bank, which also occupies all of the first floor office space, provides close to 60 per cent of that income on a six-year lease which runs until September 30, 2013, with one six-year right of renewal. Its lease has a three-yearly rent review with the next due on October 1 this year.

The other tenants, who lease the top four levels of the building, are Business World Travel Ltd, Norak Properties and OMF Financial. They all have new six-year leases starting at $225 per sq m, with 3 per cent annual rental increases built into them.

Hain says the building is in a part of Broadway that has seen quite substantial redevelopment recently with a whole new retail strip built in Osborne St, which this building and the 1003sq m site back on to.

"Osborne St itself has been widened and there has been a big investment by council in the infrastructure in the immediate vicinity which makes this area pedestrian-friendly," he says.

The building is also on the western side of Broadway, which is consolidating its position as the more popular side of the street with shoppers and tenants, says Hain. Its location next to another bank, its parent company the ANZ, and the Rialto shopping centre means it enjoys a high level of foot traffic.

"It really is in the heart of Newmarket on the main 'ant track' for retail customers, particularly fashion shoppers. Newmarket is now acknowledged as the premier strip retail destination in Auckland, with most of the major national and some international retailers present. This is illustrated through the rentals achieved, which are the highest in New Zealand outside of Queen St in the central city."

With the neighbouring Rialto Centre being strata-titled and 10 of its retail outlets and its seven-screen cinema being offered for sale individually, also as part of Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio, Hain says a new owner may look at doing the same for this property.