Historic bank hits the property market in Hastings

The three-storey art deco structure known as the IMS Building was built in 1930s and was one of the few large buildings in the city to survive the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. Photo / Bayleys

A large portion of a heritage art deco building in the centre of Hastings' high street has been placed on the market for sale.

The three-storey art deco structure known as the IMS Building on the corner of Market St and Queen St in the central business district was built in 1930s and was one of the few large buildings in the city to survive the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.

The building was designed and engineered by Edmond Anscome to be earthquake resistant prior to there being any requirement in the building code to do so.

Anscome's offices were in the building, and the architect was in the second-floor tearooms during the 1931 earthquake and he is reputed to have continued eating brunch, convinced that an architect "should have faith in his work".

The corner site is at the centre of Hastings' banking sector – with ASB Bank, Kiwibank and SBS Bank occupying the other three corner sites with ANZ Bank bordering HBS.

The combined properties generate a combined annual gross rental of $130,577 plus GST from the three individual tenancies across the two addresses, leaving a portion for the ground floor and the entire first floor vacant.

Now the unit-titled ground level and first floors of the central city corner block are being marketed for sale through Bayleys Havelock North.

Salespeople Daniel Moffitt and Jake Smith said the configuration and permutations of the building meant there were multiple directions for its future use.

"The obvious immediate opportunity for any add-value focused new owner is of course to add a tenant or tenants to the currently vacancies on the ground and first floor," Moffitt said.

"Alternatively, there is the potential to redevelop the building in its entirety into an apartment complex, A-grade office space, or short-term accommodation amenities.

"Under these dynamics, the location opens up the opportunity to reconfigure the commercial space as a mixed-use retail and office complex with apartment-style living on the remaining floors.

"Preliminary plans for this have been designed, and available for potential buyers to review on request.

"Either of these avenues would leverage the building to become an anchor premises for the retail and commercial regeneration of Hastings city centre – particularly off the back of the council's City Centre Strategy 2013–2033, which has identified a push for greater pedestrian access and use in the precinct."

Smith said that with dual access points off both Market St and Queen St, any shared commercial and residential activities within the upper floors of the three-storey property could operate totally independently of each other.

With a lift operating between the floors, the structure has a new build standards (NBS) rating of 70 per cent – retaining much of its functionality-driven art deco interior style.

"Surprisingly, after almost a century in existence, the building is currently un-named from a corporate branding perspective," Smith said.

"That leaves a blank canvas for any new corporate tenant to secure naming rights for the premises - which brings with it signage and promotional branding opportunities - or for the property to be named after a cultural or historical aspect of the city should a residential development be undertaken."