One of Auckland’s landmark watering holes, the Hotel DeBrett building, has sold for $21 million.
The sale of the iconic site was revealed on social media by Colliers listing agent Blair Peterken, who brought the property to market in May last year.
“SOLD – The Iconic Hotel DeBrett Building – $21,000,000,” Peterken posted on LinkedIn.
“Colliers has the privilege in announcing the sale of 2-4 High Street in Auckland CBD. It’s great to see some positive signs early in 2024.”
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The 2854sqm property, which was snapped up by a “local buying group”, had been listed with neighbouring 23 Shortland Street, but a spokesman for Colliers said that property wasn’t part of the $21m deal. The sales status of the 625sqm property at 23 Shortland was unclear at the time of publication.
Together they had been eyeing around $50m.
“This property drew interest due to its unique qualities, character, and the premium location of being in lower Shortland Street. The purchaser is a local buying group.”
He added: “We have seen an increase in activity in the CBD during the past few months. The final quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of this year has brought some positive signs through greater buyer activity.”
The DeBrett Building has been a site for Auckland pubs and accommodation since 1841.
Remnants of the 1860s pub, known as the Commercial Hotel, are still visible in the current building, which was built around 1925.
The striking Art Deco doors are still a feature on High Street, retained after the hotel had a stylish refurbishment in 2008 that won it an architecture award in 2009.
The bar made history in 1968 when women’s toilets were added as New Zealand’s famed ‘six o’clock swill’ came to an end and women were finally welcomed in the general pub, not just the house bar.
In their marketing last year, the agents said the current tenants, a luxury boutique hotel, began a new 10-year lease in 2022.
When the property first hit the market last year, Peterken said the operator had expressed its long-term commitment to the site.
The refurbishment of the Hotel DeBrett, which features remnants of the 1860s Commercial Hotel, won an architecture award in 2009. Photo / Fiona Goodall
The property has other street-level hospitality and retail tenants, with Peterken noting in his listing that it generated an annual income of $1.431m plus GST.
Peterken, and his co-listing agents Kris Ongley and David Burley, had flagged the development potential of both 2-4 High Street and 23 Shortland Street, pointing out it occupied a 1053sqm site zoned for business-city centre.
“The Business – City Centre Zone provides a host of options for the new owner to intensify the usage of the site,” Ongley said last year.
“The city centre is the top of the centres hierarchy and plays a pivotal role in Auckland’s present and future success. The zone seeks to ensure the city centre is an international centre for business and learning, innovation, entertainment, culture, and urban living.”
According to OneRoof records, there was a $30.172m transaction for 2-4 High Street in 2019. Records also show a $10.1m transaction for 23 Shortland Street in 2020.
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