Wellington CBD art deco building for sale

The three storey art deco building for sale at 191-195 Cuba St, Wellington.

JLL is marketing a three-storey art deco building for sale on the corner of Cuba and Vivian Streets in the Wellington CBD.

"This is a quintessentially Wellington building," says JLL agent Ulf Führer who, as sole agent, is offering 191-195 Cuba St for sale by tender closing at 3pm on November 9.

Führer says Reid House is an important part of the Cuba Street Heritage Area. It was designed in 1930 by Atkins and Mitchell for the draper D.S. Patrick, who had a business on this corner for many years.

"Visitors to Wellington who collect the art deco heritage trail guide from Wellington City Council will find Reid House marked as a building of note," Führer says.

He quotes a Wellington guide as stating: "This three storey-building makes excellent use of its corner site, with five distinct portions folding around the triangular site. It is not symmetrical either, with two bays of Spanish Mission style on Cuba Street a contrast with the busy Art Deco decoration on the other four sides."

JLL agent Ulf Führer.

Cuba St was first surveyed in the early 1840s and is one of Wellington's earliest streets. It became an important retail area after the first tram service was established in 1878.

A construction boom in the late Victorian and early Edwardian era transformed the street and helped establish the character of the street, which is still visible in many of the buildings today.

Cuba Mall later became the first street in New Zealand to be redesigned exclusively for pedestrian use. After the tram rails were removed, the middle section of the street was closed to traffic in 1969 and the Bucket Fountain arrived shortly afterwards.

"The chance to buy this fabulous piece of Wellington's history won't come up again," Führer says.