Meadowbank character has add value potential

This character property is for sale at 14 & 16-18 St Johns Rd, Meadowbank.

A Meadowbank character building on a busy arterial road with a mix of retail, office and residential space is for sale after three generations of family ownership

The 493 sq m building on a 444 sq m site, in two equal titles, at 14 and 16-18 St Johns Rd is up for sale by tender as part of Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio closing May 19, unless it sells earlier by negotiation.

"The longstanding owners have decided to cash up this prime main road investment property which presents a number of opportunities for the next owner to explore add value angles," says Cameron Melhuish who is marketing it with Alan Haydock and Damien Bullick of Bayleys Auckland office.

Cameron Melhuish of Bayleys

The fully leased property generates net annual rental income of $172,359 with the ground floor occupied by three retail tenants and the upper floor split into office and residential space.

Melhuish says options include refurbishing the upstairs residential flat comprising two bedrooms plus study to increase its rental which is currently $280 per week. Or the adjoining upstairs office area could be converted to residential to make the most of the property's elevated position and sweeping north facing views of both the surrounding suburbs and the Waitemata Harbour. The ground floor space occupied by The Video Shop could also be reinstated into two separate retail shops to lift rentals.

"The land's two titles are 222 sq m each with the building separated into two self contained premises by a common wall. While the property is being offered for sale as one lot, there would be flexibility to sell one of the titles with its tenancies at some stage in the future. The property may also have appeal to an owner occupier as there could be an option to move into 14 St Johns Rd and use the rent from the other part of the building to help fund the acquisition."

The tenants at 16-18 St John Road are a 102 sq m liquor store, a 66 sq m dairy and the 90 sq m upstairs flat. The commercial tenants are on four to eight year leases with the residential space under a monthly periodic tenancy.

Haydock says the property has a high profile position on St Johns Road near the corner with Meadowbank Rd which provides access to the rear of the premises via a right of way.. It is located in the centre of a popular retail strip on St Johns Rd which includes the Meadowbank bakery and cafe, a BP Service Station, Meadowbank Roasts, a pharmacy and the Meadow restaurant.

"St Johns Road is a busy arterial which connects St Heliers and Remuera and provides access to the southern and northern motorways via the Greenlane interchange," says Haydock. "Retail tenants are exposed to high traffic flows and also benefit from being surrounded by a sizeable, affluent residential population."

Alan Haydock of Bayleys

The property is within easy walk to the Meadowbank Village and mall and the Meadowbank Train Station is about 1.5 kilometres away. Zoned Business 1 it currently allows for a wide range of activities while its Local Centre zoning under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan is applied to a large number of centres throughout Auckland that service local convenience needs of surrounding residential areas where good public transport is available.

"The allowable building height under this zoning increases to 16.5 metres, with residential permitted on upper levels providing potential development upside in the future in conjunction with a seismic upgrading of the building," says Haydock.