Furnishing a good return

Hinemoa St has recognised retail growth potential. Photo / Supplied

Strong inquiry is being received on the building at 1220 Hinemoa St in Rotorua before the March 25 auction of the two-level refurbished freehold retail property.

Mark Rendell of Bayleys Rotorua says three recent sales in the immediate CBD area and the revitalisation of Hinemoa St reinforce the potential of the property, which he says will provide an investor with passive income from a committed tenant.

Zoned Commercial A and occupying a 1013sq m site adjacent to the ANZ Bank, the refurbished building offers a total floor area of 1571sq m with 954sq m on the ground floor and 617sq m on the first floor.

It is now trading as Super Furn furniture, bedding and homeware store, and the tenants have recently joined the Furniture to Go buying group, which has 47-plus stores nationwide and is New Zealand's largest furniture buying group.

"The tenants have been trading as Super Furn since December 2008 and as an independently owned business have been very successful. The owner, Angela Gamble, has over 14 years' experience managing furniture stores in Rotorua and is looking forward to the benefits of joining an established and strong buying group," says Rendell. "They have an eight-year lease on the ground floor with seven years left to run and are committed to the site. There is also a new six-year lease in place on the first floor."

The property currently returns a net rental of $173,810 a year plus GST and outgoings with rent reviews aligned to CPI growth.

The ground-floor showroom includes staff amenities of an office, toilet facilities and lunchroom. A service lift and service lane are accessed from the rear of the property, ensuring efficient loading and unloading of stock.

The first-floor open-plan space can be accessed either from an internal staircase or by way of a dedicated road entrance off Hinemoa St.

"The future of this busy retail strip is promising given the current construction of the Royal Court residential apartment complex directly across the road with 77 apartments due for completion later this year and the quality mix of retail outlets in the area.

"A major fabric retailer has relocated his business from a semi-industrial site to a site opposite the property we will auction in recognition of the growth potential of Hinemoa St. It's becoming a vibrant part of the city and the apartment development will clearly bring more people to the area which is encouraging for the retail sector."