Napier’s former courthouse, Conservation House, sold to mystery buyer

The "sold" sign on Conservation House, the historic former courthouse on the corner of Marine Parade and Browning St, Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor.

The “sold” sign has gone up on 150-year-old Napier beachfront landmark and former courthouse Conservation House.

The sale was confirmed to Hawke’s Bay Today by Mana Ahuriri Holdings Ltd independent chair Mike Pohio on Thursday.

“Mana Ahuriri worked through an open market sales process that included providing opportunities for Mana Ahuriri members to participate in the sales process,” he said, “The sales process has now been completed and the property has been to sold to a private party. We wish the purchaser all the best with their future plans for Conservation House.”

Department of Conservation operations manager Grant Bennett says the DoC lease runs out on March 2, space in Hastings St has been secured as temporary offices and the department’s Hawke’s Bay conservancy will move into permanent premises in Wakefield St, in the Onekawa Industrial District, later in the year.

The two-storey wooden building on the corner of Marine Parade and Browning St was built in 1874-75 and served as the Napier Courthouse for 113 years until new halls of justice were opened in Hastings St in 1988.

Crown-owned and land-banked for use in Treaty of Waitangi claim settlement, it has been the front-window of DoC in Hawke’s Bay for more than 30 years, and ownership passed to Napier-based post-settlement governance entity Mana Ahuriri Trust as part of the Ahuriri Hapu Claims Settlement enacted at the end of 2021.

The site was placed on the market three months ago by Trust asset company Mana Ahuriri Holdings Ltd.