Thames commercial block has MP tenant

The commercial block at 186-190 Thames St, Morrinsville. Photo / Supplied

The land and buildings housing a range of retail and commercial tenants, including a sitting MP using the location as one of his constituency offices, have been placed on the market for sale.

The commercial block at 186-190 Thames St, Morrinsville, encompasses multiple 'pillars' of the community — from the local accountancy firm and a long-standing farm equipment and animal healthcare product retailer, through to the town's MP.

The property comprises two buildings fronting onto Thames St — with a large car park and farm machinery and equipment display area immediately adjacent to the retail premises. The first of the two buildings was erected in the 1980s, while the second was constructed in the early 2000s. The Morrinsville locations encompass four retail and commercial tenancies, generating a combined annual income of $110,349.

Among the individual tenancies are:

• farm products and equipment supplier Geo Hutchison & Co (Hutchies), on a lease expiring in 2021 with two further five-year rights of renewal, generating net rent of $70,132 per annum;
• chartered accountancy firm Cleland Hancox, on a lease expiring in 2021 with two further four-year rights of renewal, generating net rent of $25,650 per annum;
• the constituency offices of Waikato MP Tim Van de Molen, on a lease expiring in 2020, with two further three-year rights of renewal, generating net rent of $8,866 per annum;
• a vacant space where the previous tenant had been paying token net rent of $5701 per annum.

The freehold land and building at 186-190 Thames St are being marketed for sale at auction on October 25 by Bayleys Hamilton.

Salesperson Josh Smith says the 1157sq m of buildings sit on 1923sq m of land in the heart of Morrinsville — just 100m away from the main arterial route of State Highway 26.

Smith says the property has considerable rental upside from tenanting the vacant office space — previously occupied by another accounting firm, which relocated to Hamilton last year.

"The large, open-plan space is laid out with several smaller managerial offices and a boardroom located around the central area, and would suit a professional services firm," he says.

"While a token rent of $10,000 has been paid over the past year, comparable space in Morrinsville has been commanding a per-square-metre rate double that.

"The quality of the building is evidenced by the stature of the fellow tenants. Sitting National MP Tim Van de Molen has two offices in the Waikato, and regularly holds meetings and briefings with his constituents in these Morrinsville premises."

Hutchies, which has traded in town since 1942, is located in the other building in the block, providing a full range of dairy farm products — from milking machines and water pumping systems through to effluent control equipment and private swimming and spa pool supplies.

Hutchies' floor plate comprises a mixture of open plan retail, office and warehousing space, while the rear of the premises contains a workshop with roller door access to the yard.

"The building housing Tim Van de Molen's constituency office and Cleland Hancox has an Initial Evaluation Procedure [IEP] rating of 100 per cent of New Build Standard [NBS], while building housing Hutchies has a much lower NBS rating," says Smith.

"There is considerable parking and storage space to the rear of the property — which is well utilised by staff from all three tenancies."