- An Auckland-based investor is selling the Flagstaff Community Police Station in Hamilton after 25 years.
- The 393sqm building, used by NZ Police since 1998, has an RV of $2.25 million.
- Potential buyers have shown interest, with suggestions for redevelopment.
A Hamilton police station that closed its doors to the public over a decade ago is on the prowl for a new owner.
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The cop shop at 1158 River Road, opposite Flagstaff Shopping Centre, has hit the market for sale with an RV of $2.25m and an advertised holding income of almost $90,000 a year.
The sale may disappoint locals, who have long campaigned for the building to reopen as Flagstaff Community Police Station, instead of its current use as a home for back office operations.
But locals would be unaware that the building is one of the 285 privately-owned police buildings in New Zealand. It was built for NZ Police in 1997 by the developer of Flagstaff Shopping Centre and sold to Auckland-based investors three years later.
The police station opened in 1998, serving as a small, local police station servicing the northeast of Hamilton. Some 14 years later, it closed its doors to the public and now houses a small number of staff who work in a non-public-facing office space.
The Flagstaff police station closed its doors to the public in 2012 and is now used by back office staff. Photo / Supplied
NZ Police has been the one and only tenant. Marked cars are often parked out front, and police staff can still be seen coming in and out of the building during the week.
NAI Harcourts Hamilton Commercial managing director Mike Neale told OneRoof that like many in the area, he had assumed the police station was owned by the Government or local iwi until the owners approached him about selling the property on his behalf.
“From my perspective, it is very unusual. We’ve never sold a police premises before,” he said.
There was an upcoming renewal on the current lease, but Neale said it was unlikely police would continue to use the building long-term.
Within 24 hours of the For Sale sign going up outside the prominent site, Neale and his co-listing agent Brad Chibnall had fielded over half a dozen calls and lined up several inspections.
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“You’ve always looked at it and never known what it is.”
The building and the 1544sqm freehold site it sits on could be repurposed or redeveloped. “It’s a commercially freehold site and that’s really the key – it’s not a unit title,” Neale said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was bowled and redeveloped. I think you would get better site utilisation if you did that.”
The owners were at an age and stage in their lives where they were ready to move on, he said. “The owners are genuinely putting it on the market to sell so the market will determine what it’s worth.”
A NZ Police spokesperson said the agency had been in discussions with the current owners about their intention to sell and would speak with the new owners about their intentions for the space. Depending on the discussions with the new owners, any impacted staff would be consulted, and relocated to alternative policing workspaces.
Hamilton East MP Ryan Hamilton was unaware that the police station, "right in the heart of suburbia", was privately owned. It hadn't been used as an operational hub for some time, and he had been told the police model had moved on from the days when there were police stations in the suburbs.
The police station is opposite two other retail blocks and a vacant section earmarked for social housing. Photo / Supplied
"I just think operationally they felt it was no longer fit for purpose even from a community perspective people liked knowing there was a cop nearby. "
However, Hamilton said there were still community constables and good engagement with the local communities despite not having a physical base in the community.
"I think it's probably a little bit more of a perception. I certainly don't think it's reduced their impact in anyway." In fact he said under the National-led Government there were more police on the beat, which had already seen a reduction in crime.
Hamilton deputy mayor Angela O'Leary said both she and local residents would ideally like to see it reopened as a community police station, but she was resigned to the fact it wasn't going to happen. "I remember the days when it was a community police station, and it would be nice to get that back, but we know we are not going to get that."
Instead, she believed the best outcome would be a low-impact commercial development because the roads by the roundabout were already heavily congested during peak times.
"I don't think an intense residential development on that site would be the right thing."
The Flagstaff police station is next to a large parcel of land on which Kāinga Ora had planned to build a mix of 60 state and private houses. The controversial housing project was initially met with resistance from the community when it was first announced in 2020, and O'Leary recalled the community calling on the police station to be reopened at the same time.
The Endeavour Avenue housing development has faced a raft of ongoing delays, ranging from staff shortages due to Covid-19 to bad weather. It is currently on hold as part of a larger review of state housing around the country.
When asked for an update on the plans last week, Kāinga Ora Waikato regional director Mark Dawson said the agency was working towards finalising the future use of the Endeavour site including exploring divestment options and hoped to be able to share a decision on the site "soon".
- 1158 River Road, in Flagstaff, Hamilton, is for sale, deadline closing April 10
