Ex Canon HQ offers 'bang for the buck'

The building at 23-25 Jarden Mile, Ngauranga, is now home to Site Safe NZ. Photo / Supplied

A former Canon NZ national headquarters — occupying a high-profile industrial property in Jarden Mile, Ngauranga, Wellington — is on the market for sale.

The Jarden Mile industrial precinct was developed in the early 1990s, and in 1994 Canon New Zealand was first to occupy the property for sale at 23-25 Jarden Mile.

It is now owned and occupied by Site Safe New Zealand Inc, as a national head office and regional training facility. Site Safe is a national not-for-profit organisation with a health and safety focus, operating within the construction sector.

Fraser Press and Ethan Hourigan, of Bayleys Wellington, are marketing the property by through a tender process closing at 4pm on Wednesday June 27.

Press says the Ngauranga precinct is widely regarded as a preeminent industrial location in the Wellington region.

"According to Bayleys research it has the second lowest leasing vacancy rate, behind Grenada, at around the 3 per cent level.

"But now Site Safe has decided it does not wish to be an owner-occupier going forward. As we understand it, the company has assessed its priorities and feels that the best path ahead is to lease property and invest capital into evolving services for its members."

He says the property will be sold with vacant possession, however there could be an opportunity for a new owner to negotiate with Site Safe to be a tenant down the track.

The freehold property has an assessed market rental of $250,000 net. Press says it has undergone a comprehensive structural review which has highlighted some areas that require repairs.

"A detailed seismic assessment undertaken by Opus in June 2017 gives this building a National Building Standard [NBS] rating of 35-40 per cent," says Press.

"In order to increase this rating to 67 per cent of NBS, the report details four main areas that require some work and that report will be made available to interested parties so they can carry out due diligence on what is recommended.

"Given the desirability of Jarden Mile as a location and the strong demand for space in this area, we know that the work required to raise that NBS rating will make sense to a number of investors and higher-end owner-occupiers.

"This strategically-located core property has long been owned by key investors. It has seldom on the open market, so the opportunity it offers is appealing."

The Site Safe property has a freehold land area of around 1690sq m, with 28 onsite carparks including one car park for the disabled.

The buildings have a footprint of 1023sq m and comprise ground floor office space (formerly showroom space for Canon), ground floor training/class rooms and amenities, first floor offices with comprehensive ocean views, a high-stud warehouse with mezzanine area.

"This property is one of the most prominent sites on Jarden Mile with a very wide frontage to Old Hutt Rd and the suburban motorway," Press says.