The historic eight-storey Chancery Chambers office building in the heart of Auckland’s finance and legal districts is for sale for the first time in 33 years.
Built in 1924 in the Gothic Revival style, Chancery Chambers holds a prominent position on the corner of Chancery and O’Connell streets overlooking Freyberg Square.
The property has been owned and occupied by the Auckland District Law Society (ADLS) since 1989 and offers 3580sq m of office space with a fully equipped restaurant on the ground floor and a large, fully landscaped outdoor rooftop and event space with views over the city.
It is being marketed by Whillans Realty Group and is one of the few character properties in Auckland’s CBD to come up for sale for some time. Tenders close on March 17.
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Marketing agent Henry Thompson says ADLS will take a short-term lease back across their premises. The balance of the property is leased to a mix of legal tenants.
He says the property offers considerable potential to a new owner.
“An investor or owner occupier could refurbish the property into high-end character office space, or re-lease and retain the building as it stands.
"Alternatively, the location and existing configuration of Chancery Chambers makes it well-suited to a potential hotel or apartment conversion.
“You just can’t build character like this into a new-build office building. It’s iconic and instantly recognisable from the outside.”
And the rooftop garden is unique in the heart of Auckland’s CBD. “There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the city with its sixth floor delivering 191sq m of function and meeting room space that opens out onto this large outdoor terrace.”
The building also has natural light flooding in on three sides of it with an internal lightwell.
As well as the ground-floor restaurant, this floor houses a 60sq m bookstore used by ADLS; secondhand bookstore Jason Books, accessed via a separate entrance from O'Connell St to the basement, plus a copy shop.
Historically, the 610sq m freehold site at 2-8 Chancery St was the home to the first residential building in the city when Sir John Logan Campbell built Acacia Cottage on the property in 1841.
Acacia Cottage was moved to Cornwall Park in 1920 and remains the oldest surviving residential building in Auckland.
Sir John Logan Campbell is best known for gifting Cornwall Park – Auckland’s largest park - to the Cornwall Park Trust Board in 1901.
In 1924, Chancery Chambers Ltd was formed to develop a commercial building on the property. The building provides an early example of speculative development. It highlights the commercial confidence at the time and the growth of Auckland in the mid 1920’s.
Chancery Chambers was designed by French-Canadian architect Sholto Smith in partnership with T C Mullions and F McDonald who also designed the Lister Building on the corner of Victoria and Lorne streets and Shortland Flats on Shortland St.
Its position between Queen St - Auckland’s golden mile - and the headquarters of some of the country’s largest corporate, legal and financial service companies gives it the benefit of high levels of pedestrian traffic.
It is surrounded by a mix of character buildings, upmarket retail and established restaurants and cafes. It is also less than 200m from four public carparks, five minutes’ walk from the Britomart train station and the downtown ferry terminal as well as 100m from Queen St.
In 2014, O’Connell St underwent a major $4.4 million upgrade which transformed the street into a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare with new bluestone paving, lighting, landscaping, sculptural seating and public artwork.
In 2017, Auckland Council completed a $10.7 million refurbishment of the directly adjacent Freyberg Square which included a complete refurbishment of the Ellen Melville Centre into a vibrant new community hub.
Thompson says the potential of the building is substantial, especially for someone who loves history and has a vision for the future post-pandemic.
- Article supplied by Whillans
