Historic building calls for new tenants

After years of strengthening, refurbishment and remodelling, Napier's former Central Post Office building's owner is looking to attract out-of-town businesses.

Tenancies for lease in Napier's refurbished former Central Post Office have come on to the market, with incentives offered to business looking to relocate to Hawke's Bay.

The three-storey Art Deco building on the corner of Dickens and Hastings streets, in Napier's central business district, was built in 1930 and was one of the few large buildings in the city to survive the 1931 earthquake.

The heritage-listed building was deemed earthquake-prone in 2011. Its then anchor tenants, the Post Office and Kiwibank, moved out to allow for a strengthening upgrade and three-year refurbishing and remodelling programme.

The building now has a new build standards (NBS) rating of 100 per cent.

Vodafone has signed up as a tenant, as has New Zealand Post, Cafe Adoro, Accura Accounting and Indelible Film and Video Marketing.

Bayleys Napier leasing broker Sam MacDonald said if it hadn't been for the new build requirements, the building "could well have remained in a functional but somewhat dated state".

The reformatted interior was designed by Paris Magdalinos Architects while the structural engineering was undertaken by Structural Concepts and Gemco Construction.

Mr MacDonald said with the current high office lease rates being experienced in Auckland, alternative destinations such as Napier offered great value to entrepreneurs wanting to relocate their growing businesses to quality surroundings that were "far more affordable".

With new-to-town businesses particularly in mind as tenants, the property's owner was offering "substantial incentives" for the top floor space in a bid to entice organisations currently located in larger centres to relocate to the landmark property.