Hastings Health centre building could become 4-star hotel

Hastings Health Centre building on Queen St for sale. Photo / Supplied.

The Art Deco building housing the Hastings Health Centre is being pitched for possible redevelopment into a boutique hotel, as medical staff prepare to move into new facilities next year.

The land and buildings which are the base for Hawke's Bay's biggest private medical and healthcare centre have been placed on the market for sale or lease through Bayleys Havelock North.

Salesman Rollo Vavasour said that initial interest in the site from property developers had identified three potential future uses.

"Topping the list is the prospect for reformatting the interior into a boutique four-star-rated hotel accommodation.

"As part of the structural development to specifically accommodate Hastings Health Centre, a substantial amount of plumbing and electrical wiring was installed throughout the property to sustain the multitude of various consultation rooms, patient support amenities and staff facilities.

"As a result, the interior, subject to council consenting could sustain the creation of an intimate lodge-style four-star hotel.

Salesman Paul Garland said the second most likely option for the Queen St East site was converting the interior into a modern serviced office complex.

Reformatting the building into short-term accommodation for workers in Hawke's Bay's agricultural sector – both the vineyards and the apple orchards - was the third alternative mooted for the prominent Queen St East site.

"Architects have indicated the existing Hastings Health Centre consultation suites could be easily converted into single bedrooms and even dormitories, while the multitude of reception areas could be opened up into communal lounges."

The two-storey building on the corner of Queen St East and Russell St North has housed Hastings Health Centre for 15 years.

Hastings Health Centre is on a lease running through to next year with a further six-month right of renewal, generating new rental of $540,000 plus GST per annum.

When it opened in 2002, Hastings Health Centre was one of New Zealand's first integrated family health centres.

With a medical staff of some 50 doctors, supported by a full complement of nurses and administrative personnel, Hasting Health Centre's operations are scheduled to move into new $20 million purpose-built premises on the corner of St Aubyn and King Sts next year on what was the former Bunnings site.

"All of the redevelopment options alluded to are wholly-compatible with the visions espoused in Hastings District Council's recently released Draft Long Term Plan 2018–2028," Vavasour said.