Gisborne landmark provides shedload of possibilities

The 3913sq m building includes a canopied loading dock and customer entrance canopy. Photo / Supplied

The building in Gisborne previously occupied by Gilmours, the former wholesaling arm of Foodstuffs, is on the market with Bayleys Auckland seeking tenders closing May 20.

Newly listed and marketed by Colin McNab of Bayleys Gisborne and Paul Dixon of Bayleys Auckland, the property at 53 Awapuni Rd in the Awapuni industrial precinct has become surplus to the owner's requirements following the recent closure of the well-known business.

The facade of the building dates back to the 1930s and 1940s when it was constructed as a woolstore for Williams and Kettle Limited.

McNab says the facade was retained when the retail warehouse was developed sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s and subsequent upgrades have given it a contemporary, streamlined look to the exterior.

In recent times Foodstuffs (Auckland) has franchised its Gilmours' branches in line with the franchise business model they apply to their other brands - New World, Pak'N Save and Four Square. With the closure of the Gisborne branch of Gilmours earlier this year, Foodstuffs no longer requires the building.

"The sale of the property presents an opportunity for an investor or owner occupier to secure an industrial warehouse in good condition on 5794sq m," McNab says.

"Being on State Highway 35 and just minutes from the CBD, the port and Waikanae beach, the boxes are all ticked in terms of location. This one is expected to attract strong interest."

The building is well-known by Gisborne people, as Gilmours was the place where hospitality and dairy operators, along with the region's school, sporting and marae groups, went to buy wholesale food and liquor supplies.

The functional 3913sq m building includes a canopied loading dock and customer entrance canopy and is partitioned to provide three main areas: a central retail space, a rear inward-goods warehouse and a front warehouse. There are also partitioned offices, storage areas and staff amenities. The building is positioned on the western boundary and runs the full length of the site. "Alongside is 1450sq m of sealed car parking and access yard which opens up future development possibilities," McNab says.

"The building would be particularly suitable as a storage facility and could easily be divided up and sub-let should a new owner wish to go down that path. If the warehouse was internally subdivided, each tenancy could have its own yard space and access."

Awapuni is Gisborne's main industrial precinct and neighbouring properties comprise light industrial businesses, manufacturing facilities, warehouse/storage operations and some bulk retailing.

"Throughout the economic downturn, industrial property has proved to be resilient and fared better than retail and office assets, with yields not softening to the same degree," says McNab. "In Gisborne, as with other provincial centres, there has been very limited new industrial construction going on which has meant that demand has remained reasonably steady for existing industrial stock. On the back of an improving domestic economy and increased consumer spending, we would expect to see the fundamentals for manufacture, storage and distribution of goods coming back into line and this property is well-positioned to be part of that next wave."

McNab says inquiry levels in Gisborne for commercial and industrial property so far in 2010 have shown there are investors and owner occupiers in the market with good equity and an eye for a solid investment.

"Someone with vision will recognise that this building has a number of possible end uses and will apply some lateral thinking and sound business logic to come up with a workable option."