Auckland’s 98-year-old Hotel DeBrett, on a site used for accommodation since 1841, is up for sale.
Blair Peterken, a Colliers agent marketing the building with colleagues, said the hotel operator had recently renewed its lease on the building, giving a buyer good income stream prospects.
Auckland Council valued the hotelat $29.5m in June 2021 with the 818sq m land being worth $11.4m and the 2652sq m building is worth $18.1m.
Colliers says: “2-4 High St is located next to the corner of Shortland St and High St with an extension through to O’Connell St, in Auckland’s Central Business District. The site has been used as a short-term/hotel accommodation building since 1841, with the current building erected circa 1925. The property was extensively renovated, extended, and underwent a full seismic program in 2007-2008, resulting in a new building standard seismic rating of 70 per cent per cent.”
Crane & Sons, Ruby Apparel, 3 Wise Men, Habit Hotels & Apartment, Rose Nail Spa, Lila’s Tailoring and CSC Auckland are listed in the information memorandum as tenants in the Hoel De Brett building. which also hosts a Heart of the City camera.
Two neighbouring properties are for sale in the campaign being run by Colliers. Photo / Supplied
“The character property comprises a total of nine retail tenancies, along with the main tenant Hotel DeBrett, occupying a portion of the ground, basement, first floor, second floor and loft level. The improvements have a total net lettable floor area of 2854sq m being situated on a high-profile corner site of 818sq m,” Collier said.
As well as the hotel, the neighbouring office building at 23 Shortland St is also being sold. The council lists that as being valued at $10.2m of which $6.2m is the 235sq m site and $4m is the 495sq m building.
Property records show Greenwhale Holdings owns that property. The directors are Shahin Behrooz Kermani of Eastern Beach in Auckland and Parnell’s Sohail Kermani. All the shares are owned by Kermani Group of Emily Pl.
A 214sq m area in 23 Shortland St is leased as a basement shop to Kajiken Nz. Paris Barber and Point 16 are other tenants, Colliers said.
At 23 Shortland St, a three-level character building has basement accommodation, with additional frontage to Shortland St and O’Connell St. Basement shops one, two and three have been recently leased to a single tenant under a new five-year lease, with shop four being leased to a barber shop.
The upper floors are character office accommodation with level one now vacant and level two leased to a separate occupier. The property has a net lettable floor area of 625sq m, situated on a corner site of 235sq m.
Both buildings bring in $1.6m annual rent of which the hotel pays $1.4m and tenants in the neighbouring offices pay $236,000/year.
All up, 1053sq m of CBD land is being sold.
The agents are highlighting the buildings’ good locations.
“Situated on the corner of Shortland St and High St, Hotel DeBrett is surrounded by a vibrant neighbourhood filled with shops, galleries, cafes, and restaurants. Auckland City Rail Link is the largest transport infrastructure project New Zealand has ever built and is set to have a huge impact on Auckland’s growth and CBD’s foot traffic. With Britomart Transport Centre close by, Auckland’s main transport hub, is just a short walk away, offering connections to buses, trains, and ferries. Auckland CBD terminal is the main departure point to Waiheke and Rangitoto Island,” the marketing says.
Colliers is marketing the buildings via a deadline private treaty, closing on Thursday.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, having won many awards, written books, founded the National Business Review’s property section in 1985 and covered property extensively here and overseas. She joined the Herald in 2000.
