Sale of former post office a red-letter day

The property for sale at 616-618 Remuera Rd is leased to two retail outlets. Photo / Supplied

A former post office, now occupied by two tenants, and which has substantial frontage on to Remuera Rd, is now up for sale.

The Upland Village property - a 143sq m building on a 258sq m site - is at 616-618 Remuera Rd.

It will go under the hammer in Bayleys' final Total Property auction of the year on December 6, unless sold earlier.

Generating net annual rental income of $76,143, it is being marketed by Andrew Wallace, Genevieve Thompson-Ford and Cameron Melhuish of Bayleys Auckland & City Fringe division.

"The family trust which has owned this property for 35 years has done very well out of their investment," says Wallace.

"It would suit another family trust or a smaller to medium sized investor looking for affordable retail property in a proven location. Unlike a lot of smaller retail offerings, it is not unit tilted, so it does not come with the obligations of being part of a body corporate and the costs and issues that sometimes can arise with that.

With a Neighbourhood Centre zoning under the Auckland Unitary Plan the property could also appeal to investors looking for opportunities to add value, because this provides potential to add further floors on top of the existing single-level building, Wallace.

"The zoning applies to single corner stores or small shopping strips located in residential neighbourhoods, which provide residents and passers-by with their retail and commercial service needs. It allows for buildings up to 11 metres, plus two metres for the roof form (three storeys), with residential accommodation permitted on the upper floors.

"This is also a bottom drawer investment opportunity offering a well presented building in a prominent position in Upland Village, a tightly held boutique retail and commercial precinct surrounded by some of Auckland´s most affluent residential suburbs."

The tenancies are as follows:

• Cachet, the women's clothing and accessories store occupies about 73sq m. This has been under the same ownership and in occupation for nearly 35 years. Its current lease runs from 2010 and the first of two four-year rights of renewal has been exercised delete if possible: which expires in October next year.

• Bottle O, part of a national chain of locally owned liquor stores, is in a shop of about 70sq m which has operated as a liquor outlet for many year. Its lease runs for four years from March 2017, with two four-year rights of renewal. A small amount of additional rental income is generated from a telecommunications equipment lease to Vodafone.

The retail tenancies are open plan with storage and amenities at the rear.

"Both benefit from high exposure to Remuera Rd, a main residential and commercial arterial route with significant vehicular and pedestrian traffic," says Thompson-Ford.