Odyssey to New Lynn leaves Mt Eden base for sale

The building for sale at 390 Mt Eden Rd serves as the Auckland base for national addiction treatment provider Odyssey.

Following its purchase of a new community base in New Lynn, national addiction treatment provider Odyssey is selling its Mt Eden based administration office and a leased residential building.

"These two well maintained properties, featured in Bayleys' latest Total Property magazine, could be purchased either individually or separately," says Mike Adams of Bayleys Auckland, who is marketing them for sale through a tender process closing on April 16.

The administration centre at 390 Mt Eden Road encompasses a 239 sq m two-storey converted house built in the early 1900s and sitting on 1122 sq m of land.

The site has two road frontages, is zoned Residential 2B and has the potential to be reinstated as a residence.

Odyssey's residential unit at 15 Mont Le Grand Rd is a 268 sq m five bedroom villa-style residence with separate studio unit sitting on 688 sq m of land that Odyssey has owned since 1989.

Adams says the villa dates back to the early 1900s and is in a Residential 5 zoning - moving to Mixed Housing Suburban under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan which is currently being reviewed.

"The property with a lease in place to Odyssey House until 2017, generates annual rent of about $58,000 per annum and is for sale as a tenanted investment with residential occupants," says Adams. He says Odyssey has indicated it would look at entering into discussions with any new potential purchaser with a view to extending the lease.

The main house has three toilets, four showers, and a large communal kitchen. The detached studio also has a shower and toilet in a room adjacent to the bedroom and living spaces.

Adams says the Mt Eden Road property offers the option of continuing to be used as commercial premises under 'existing use' rights. Alternatively it could be converted back into an attractive residential dwelling under its zoning classification.

Odyssey's residential unit at 15 Mont Le Grand Rd, Mt Eden.

"Both addresses are in much sought-after parts of Mount Eden - albeit at different boundaries," Adams says. "The Mount Eden Road property is surrounded by a growing number of mixed-use premises, or similarly designed large houses which have been converted into professional services offices tenanted by the likes of small accountancy, medical, or architecture and building design firms.

"With minimal internal structural alterations, the lay out of the building would allow for either a single or multiple occupancy tenancies. There is considerable off street parking space for both potential staff and customers of any new business tenants, with the ability to add more parking amenities easily."
Philip Grady, chief executive officer of Odyssey, says the sale of the two buildings will enable Odyssey to relocate front line staff to areas most in need of services.

Grady says the refurbished building in New Lynn with a public cafe and community rooms will provide a new way of working in the community and reaching people who are in recovery from drug and alcohol misuse,

Odyssey employs 140 staff at nine locations across the Auckland region working in both residential and community settings, including reaching out into schools and primary care sectors.

The organisation's treatment services assist over 1500 people a year in recovering from addiction, with both young people and adults seeking treatment. Many of these people have addictions to multiple substances, the most commonly used substances being alcohol, cannabis, and methamphetamine.

Odyssey offers addiction treatment both in the community and in specialised residential centres. The goal is to offer the best option based on the person's needs and circumstances.

Adams says development and innovation is a cornerstone of Odyssey - with increased emphasis on finding new ways of addressing community issues related to alcohol and drug misuse.

"As a healthcare service provider, Odyssey has an excellent reputation. However, like many charitable organisations, they are having to streamline operations to maximise returns from all their assets to enable the services that deliver the best value for money to the health system," he says.