The increasingly popular northeast pocket of the Christchurch CBD is set for another boost with the marketing of a historic building and adjacent land.
The old brick building was once home to the boiler house of Ward’s Brewery, which occupied what is now the Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn
building. Youth club Crichton Cobbers was previously on the vacant site, but their buildings were demolished after the Canterbury earthquakes.
Located on the corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Chester Street East, the property is being sold by Colliers’ investment sales specialists Courtney Doig and Luke Wishnowsky, on behalf of Coffee Culture, who had previously planned to restore the complex to house their head office and coffee roastery.
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“A change of direction means the owners have now decided to sell, paving the way for someone else to restore and position their business in this quirky and popular location. The boiler house would benefit from restoration, although it has an NBS rating of 36 per cent as it stands,” Doig says.
The Christchurch City Council District Plan describes the building as retaining the distinctive character of the early industrial site.
“The former boiler house of Ward’s Brewery has architectural and aesthetic significance as a remaining part of a significant group of early brick industrial buildings in Christchurch.”
Built before 1910, the boiler house is three storeys high and constructed of reinforced concrete and brick with a corrugated iron roof.
Colonial brick industrial buildings are increasingly rare following the earthquakes, so those that remain have heightened significance as a reminder of the scale and architectural style of the industrial buildings of that era.
“This part of the CBD is undergoing rapid gentrification and is characterised by buildings that have been retained and repurposed,” Doig says.
“There’s an eclectic mix of flourishing businesses, including Pomeroy’s, Little Poms, Flow, a preschool, and a growing residential population. Properties are tightly held.”
A laneway runs from the boiler house through to the new $5 million Flow Wellbeing complex, opened last October.
The two separate titles are offered for sale either on an individual basis or collectively, by deadline private treaty closing 1 September. The total land area is 1,576sq m split into 397sq m at 227 Fitzgerald Ave and 1,179sq m at 177 Chester St East.
Doig says there are myriad options available to buyers with both commercial and residential possibilities.
Sacha Coburn, Coffee Culture co-owner, says the site presents both an incredible opportunity to create something with real impact for the wider community, and an attractive commercial proposition.
“We’ve recently renovated our existing head office and warehouse and our team are loving it, so we’ve decided to let someone else build their dream in this unique location.”
- Article supplied by Colliers
