Napier's art deco radio station building for sale

This renovated city centre art deco gem used to house Radio New Zealand. Photo / Bayleys

The land and building which once housed the first radio station to broadcast across the Hawke's Bay out of Napier have been placed on the market for sale.

The two-storey CB Hansen and Coy Building in Napier's art deco precinct was built in 1933 and is registered in Napier City Council's art deco inventory of architecturally-important buildings in the city.

The property's original owners were automotive electrical firm CB Hansen which ran its workshop from the lower floor and leased out the top floor to Radio New Zealand for its Hawke's Bay broadcasting and newsroom studios.

The top floor of the premises at 73–81 Dalton St was converted to a restaurant in the mid-1990s – with Italian eatery Casa Gardini serving pizza and pastas from the premises until 2002 when the restaurant was converted into office space.

During the 1980s the street-level space was occupied by Brian Athea Antiques, with a car audio retailer operating from the site in the early 2000s, and it has also housed an Asian grocery store.

Now the 412 sq m building, sitting on 326 sq m of freehold land, is being marketed for sale by deadline private treaty through Bayleys Napier.

It is tenanted by Peppers Hair and Beauty Boutique, Jellybean Brewing Supplies, Corporate branding design and marketing company Media Mint, massage parlour Club Rendezvous and an asset management company, and generates annual rent of $137,000.

Salesman Sam MacDonald said the building had undergone a recent major structural strengthening and modernisation programme.

"The end result is one of Napier's most well-presented art deco commercial properties which now seamlessly combined the flamboyant character of the 1930s with the modern design sophistication of today."