NZ Post's exit leaves good buy in Taradale

New Zealand Post is vacating the property at 264 Gloucester St, Taradale. Photo / Supplied

The closure of New Zealand Post's Taradale branch has created a buying opportunity for owner-occupiers and investors to secure a vacant 194sq m property with holding income on a high-profile retail strip in the Napier suburb.

Dan Walker of Colliers International Hawke's Bay has been exclusively appointed to market 264 Gloucester St, Taradale, for sale by deadline private treaty with offers closing at 4pm on Wednesday May 22, unless it sells earlier.

Walker says the vendor is a group of private investors while the outgoing tenant, NZ Post Ltd, has already closed its PostShop and Kiwibank services and is in the process of vacating the property.

"With four months remaining on the lease, a new owner will be able to draw on $3050 a month in short-term holding income before taking vacant possession on September 1," says Walker.

"Owner-occupiers will appreciate the extra income while planning towards a September move-in date to make the most of the summer retail trade period.

"Investors will be able to bank a few months of rental income while securing a new tenant and extracting some upside on the investment."

Walker says the property is currently under-rented at $36,600 net per annum.

"With an assessed market rental of $42,000 to $48,000 net per annum, there is scope to make an immediate rental gain with a new tenant."

The property is located at the centre of Taradale's main retail strip, between Big Barrel Liquor and NZCU Bank.

"This popular location is supported by well-known local and national brands including national banks, eateries and specialist retailers."

NZ Post is vacating the premises as it replaces standalone PostShop branches with independent postal service franchises in the likes of supermarkets, pharmacies, book shops and convenience stores. More than 800 of New Zealand Post's 880 service points are already run as franchises.

Postal services in Taradale are now offered at Paper Plus, located near the vacated premises at 285 Gloucester St; while Kiwibank continues to provide banking services at its Napier South and Marewa branches.

New Zealand Post has agreed to complete extensive 'make good' work to deliver 264 Gloucester St as 'a blank slate' for a new owner. This will include:

• removal of all tenant fixtures and fittings, including partition walls but excluding the walls in the toilet and kitchen area to the rear;

• removal of the post office box lobby door, and reinstatement of the shopfront glazing to inline frontage;

• interior plastering and patching where required, with walls to be painted plain white;

• removal of floor coverings to a bare floor, and;

• making good on any damage.

The property is zoned Suburban Commercial, which allows for a range of retail and commercial uses.

Walker says it benefits from a strong retail catchment that is drawn from the predominantly middle-class residential suburb of Taradale which has good range of amenities including a library, sports grounds and many parks and reserves.

"Taradale also acts as a gateway to some of the region's best-known wineries, with the nearby Mission Estate and Church Road wineries attracting more than 300,000 tourists every year."