The gymnasium at 17 Carlyle St on the fringe of the Napier CBD.
The gymnasium at 17 Carlyle St on the fringe of the Napier CBD.
During the 1990s the gym bunnies at 17 Carlyle St, Napier, used to exercise to the likes of Aqua's Barbie Girl - but things have moved on.
"The music improved a lot," recalls Gary Wise of Bayleys Napier, "but so did the gymnasium - it went from being Napier City Gym, to Sparta Health Club, then Sparta Health and Fitness and finally, Infinite Fitness."
The popular two-storey fitness venue is now vacant and on the market for lease or purchase.
Wise thinks it could attract a single tenant, or multiple tenancies, perhaps including residential, or even retail.
The ground level is 620sq m, while the upper floor housed 403sq m of space.
The upper storey has its own separate access off Craven Terrace and an internal staircase links the two floors, which are on separate titles.
The Carlyle St/Cravan Terrace property is zoned commercial 8C under Napier City Council's District Plan. This broadly allows for industrial activities, offices, licensed premises, showrooms, residential, retailing, and warehousing, he says.
The freehold property is a few hundred metres from the Napier CBD and, with car parking for 15 vehicles, sits on about 930sq m of land.
"This building could not be better located, overlooking one of Napier's busiest main arterial routes, which links the CBD with the suburban locations of Taradale, Ahuriri, Westshore, and Greenmeadows.
"It is in two titles, plus it has a spring-loaded floor on the upper level, so it's eminently suitable for activities of a physical nature," says Wise.
The Napier property for sale or lease is identified by a red border.
The 1023sq m premises were once a wooden structure housing Napier City Gym but following a fire in 1980 it was rebuilt in tilt slab with concrete flooring. The substantial building that emerged was to become the home of Sparta Health and Fitness.
"The property now contains saunas, various smaller rooms, and multiple shower facilities from its previous incarnation as a gymnasium. However, facilities would require some refurbishment to operate as a modern gym," he says.
"The sprung wooden floor covering 66 per cent of the top storey would be of great value to any floor-based cardio fitness activity, such as dancing, boxing, or martial arts.
"An initial evaluation estimate puts the building at 90.8 per cent of the Building Code's new earthquake standard, indicating a sound structure suitable for any use that would benefit from being on the CBD fringe."
Wise believes partitioning the building would improve suitability for multiply tenancies. "Napier is now well serviced by the nationally-branded "around-the-clock" fitness centres operating under the Snap, Anytime or Jetts logos, which all have a presence close to the city centre," he says. "However, there is a niche for the more rigorous cross-fit or box-fit style gymnasium with their personalised fitness trainer and small group sessions."
Neighbouring tenancies include several fast-food outlets, and a liquor store - with Napier City Council's newly-built bus depot diagonally across the road close to a Countdown supermarket.
Wise says a similarly-sized adjacent commercial property sold earlier this year and is undergoing a major refurbishment for future use as offices fronting on to Carlyle St, with warehousing space at the rear.
