Former Foodstuffs HQ for sale

The former lower North Island Foodstuffs head office and distribution warehousing premises in Upper Hutt. Photo / Supplied

The former lower North Island head office and distribution warehousing premises tenanted by supermarket giant Foodstuffs is for sale.

Bayleys Wellington salesperson, Fraser Press, says the property is to be sold with a potential yet-to-be negotiated, short-term, leaseback to Foodstuffs.

The Silverstream land and buildings are for sale by tender through Bayleys Wellington, closing on April 12 with the listing featuring in Bayleys' latest Total Property magazine.

The enormous warehousing operations at 57 Kiln St, in the Upper Hutt industrial suburb of Silverstream, is one of Wellington's biggest warehousing locations, Press points out.

It encompasses 23,481sq m of covered space including: 12,228sq m of high-stud warehousing, 5,420sq m of low-stud warehousing, and 4,698sq m of first-floor office amenities.

Foodstuffs operates the New World, Pak'nSave and Four Square brands throughout New Zealand.

"The warehouse was built by Foodstuffs in the late 1970s/early 80s and has been variously added to, extended and refurbished over the intervening period - with the latest space completed in 2012," says Press.

"The sheer size and scale of the site and the building infrastructure lends itself to a corporate in the logistics, freight-forwarding, or fast-moving consumer goods sectors.

"The property has been immaculately maintained throughout its lifespan - bearing in mind the various rigorous hygiene and food safety regulations governing contents stored there.

"As would be expected from a warehousing facility servicing the ultimate in fast-moving consumer goods, there is full vehicle circulation around the building's perimeter to allow for minimal manoeuvring and maximum efficiency."

Press says the Silverstream site is well located to support the urban population and commercial growth pushing northward up the Hutt valleys in parallel with development along the Kapiti Coast.

"Ease of access to Silverstream's logistics operations such as the former Foodstuffs site will improve even further when the Hayward's Interchange on State Highway 58 connects up with Transmission Gully in 2020," he says.

The property is essentially two complexes on one landholding - encompassing the distribution warehouse and an office building capable of housing 350 staff. The distribution warehouse comprises three high-stud loading bays and the property has car parking for 167 vehicles.

The structure is of concrete foundations and flooring with steel portal framing and central support columns, timber secondary framing and a "double-skinned" roof lined with Colorsteel. Press said Foodstuffs chose the Silverstream location because of its easy north and south access to and from SH2.