The land and fully refurbished purpose-built provincial medical centre premises operated by one of New Zealand’s foremost medical services organisations has been placed on the market for sale.
Sitting on a high-profile intersection in the heart of Waihi, at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, the 433-square metre premises houses the Waihi Health Centre - which has been operating in the town for decades and is now under new management under the umbrella structure of the Green Cross Health group.
The 1,012-square metre site has accommodated many different commercial tenancies over the years.
However, following a substantial upgrade, very little remains of the original build other than the front facade and building footprint.
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The modern and stylish exterior refurbishment of the building has added a new element of structural style to Waihi’s central business district.
Green Cross Health group originally began trading in New Zealand in 1981 under the Unichem Pharmacy Group brand.
Since then, the medical services company has grown substantially, and now including the Waihi Health Centre, it manages 345 pharmacies and 55 medical centres - servicing more than 36,000 clients.
The building has been fully refitted to meet Waihi Health Centre’s requirements, and now the freehold land and building at 1 Mueller Street in Waihi are being marketed for sale at auction on Thursday September 29 through Bayleys Hamilton. As you would expect from a doctor’s clinic, viewing is strictly by appointment only.
Bayleys Hamilton salesperson Josh Smith said the Waihi town centre site made full use of its rectangular-shaped footprint – with a sealed car park at the rear of the premises sustaining car parking for 12 vehicles, as well as providing discreet access for ambulance transfers.
The yard has also been used as a pop-up Covid testing centre.
“The practical and specifically designed new interior layout of Waihi Health Centre provides spaces for both patients and staff, while maintaining privacy and discretion as befitting of a first-rate medical provider with a national reputation. The minimalist styling is stereotypical ‘clinical’ – with white and pastel blue walls, and hard-wearing floor coverings,” Smith said.
“The building’s street profile over both Mueller and Seddon streets is enhanced by full height floor-to-ceiling wrap-around windows on both pedestrian frontages. Meanwhile, staff facilities within the building’s current configuration include a large lunchroom, a kitchenette, and bathrooms.”
Waihi Medical Centre is on a current 10-year lease at 1 Mueller Street running through to 2031, with four further five-year rights of renewal, generating annual rental of $180,000 plus GST and operating expenses.
Smith said Waihi Health Centre’s operators selected the Seddon Street/Mueller Street site because of the venue’s high profile and visibility, underpinned by substantial convenient customer parking directly outside the premises on either road frontage.
As Waihi’s main retail spine, Seddon Street contains the full gamut of retail premises which sustain a typical New Zealand provincial town – such as pharmacies, clothing outlets, hair stylists and barbers, convenience food producers and café premises, licensed bars, and homeware shops.
Many of the buildings within Waihi’s Seddon Street/Mueller Street hub are defined under the council’s architectural guideline as being ‘contemporary’ - designed to complement adjacent historic buildings.
The council’s plan says Waihi has a row of small shops along its main streetscape while “two or three separate businesses may be located in one building, thus creating an exciting pattern of business types, display windows, entry doors and signage.”
Smith added: “The fascia and parapet above the awning stretching over the footpath at 1 Mueller Street are very much in keeping with Waihi’s heritage past displayed in multiple nearby Seddon Street buildings.”
Hauraki District Council’s operative plan for Waihi’s central business district around Mueller Street promotes the ongoing use of motor vehicles in the locale “as ready access contributes to the economic viability of town centres.”
Smith said many of the town’s residents – as well as those coming in from surrounding rural communities such as Waihi Beach, Athenree and Whiritoa – were reliant on using private motor vehicles to access the central business district in the absence of a convenient public transport service, and this fact had been recognised by Waihi Health Centre in locating its business in the modern refurbished clinic.
Waihi is on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula – approximately 143-kilometres from Auckland, 61-kilometres from Tauranga, and 92-kilometres from Hamilton.
- Article supplied by Bayleys
