River front Tudor House for sale in Christchurch

Historic Tudor House is leased to a restaurant and financial advisers.

Tudor House, an historic landmark building that was once home to the former high profile Tiffanys Restaurant in Christchurch, has been put up sale.

"The property has an unparalleled river frontage position close to the city's retail, justice and emergency precincts," says Noel Gilchrist of Colliers International who, with colleague Philip Cooper, is marketing 95 Oxford Terrace for sale by deadline private treaty, closing on March 8.

Gilchrist says the building occupies a large triangular corner site formed by the intersection with Durham St and Lichfield St fronting onto Avon River precinct and close to the fast developing retail Precinct.

The building is listed in the Christchurch City Plan as a Group 4 protected building. Under the Proposed Replacement District Plan it is listed as a significant heritage item and setting.

Gilchrist says the building is considered to be in excess of 50 per cent of New Building Standard (NBS). "At this level of rating, it is not considered to be earthquake prone," he says.

"We believe it will attract strong interest because of its attractive position, underlying rental income and heritage qualities which prospective buyers would need to investigate further. Tudor House would be ideally suited to investors, owner occupiers or people interested in heritage properties who want to be part of one of the fastest developing areas in the central city."

The building area totals 464 sq m over two levels with four car parks on a freehold land area of 760 sq m. Tiffanys was located in Tudor House for many years and the ground floor is still leased to a restaurant, renamed Regatta on Avon while financial advisers Bradley Nuttall are on Level One. The annual rental income from the two tenancies and car parks is $150,030. Regatta's lease runs to June 2018 with three rights of renewal of three years while Bradley Nuttall's lease expires in July 2016 with one two-year right of renewal.

The two level building was built in 1907 by Dr Fitzgerald Westenra, who commissioned architects Collins and Harman to design a family home and surgery. He died suddenly in 1917 but his wife and two children remained at the home until 1926 when the building was sold to dentist Charles Newell. Medical and related professions maintained consulting rooms in the house until the mid 1970s having been joined by a car dealership on the ground floor in the 1960s.

In 1971 it was acquired by the then New Zealand Mutual Funds and in 1981 by former insurer broker George Scrimshaw who restored the building.