Large Christchurch site ripe for high-density housing

A significant mixed-use investment opportunity in central Christchurch is underpinned by a large landholding and high-profile location.

The 9,065sq m property at 442-472 Tuam Street is for sale by deadline private treaty closing on 27 October and is being marketed by Mark Macauley and Marius Ogg from Colliers and Frank Commercial’s Chris Harding.

Split into multiple freehold titles, the property has three street frontages and occupies a prime corner near the site of the new Canterbury Multi-Use Arena Te Kaha.

Four buildings occupy the site, the last of which was added with the purchase of an adjacent property at 472 Tuam Street last year to cope with growing tenant demand.

“Under the current review of the Christchurch City Plan, the proposed zoning may change from Industrial to Mixed Use, allowing for further intensification of the land and the potential for high-density residential, underpinning the value of this opportunity,” Macauley says.

“The property’s multi-tenant occupancy and strong underlying land value paired with future redevelopment opportunities ensures it will be attractive to an astute investor or developer.”

The majority of the site was originally occupied by iconic Kiwi bakery Ernest Adams.

The current owner bought the site in 2007 and set about transforming brightly coloured buildings with a diverse mix of tenants providing a spread of risk.

But food manufacturing is not entirely lost to the property, with the complex now anchored by Tuck, a cloud kitchen business, which provides individual preparation kitchens for the likes of vendors at Riverside Market, including Base Woodfired Pizza, Dosa Kitchen, Empire Chicken, Malaysia Delights, and Cluck Cluck Slurp.

Tuck’s sub-tenancies occupy Building 3 and have expanded into the recently acquired building.

At the corner of Tuam and Phillips Streets, Building 1 comprises office and warehouse space and is leased to Revolution Church with an auditorium and associated office facilities.

Building 2 is subdivided into five self-contained tenancies and has been upgraded into a mix of offices, amenities, and warehouse-style fitness and dance studios. Between the two larger buildings is a small stand-alone workshop.

Located 1.4km from the CBD in Phillipstown, the tenancies range in size from 72.64sq m to 1,200sq m, providing total annual net income of circa $1.215 million.

Harding describes the suburb as an established commercial location with a mixture of small-scale office, showrooms, warehouses, and light industrial manufacturing.

“Inner city gentrification over the past decade has seen an increase in infill housing and the predominance of townhouse-style residential apartment blocks.

“The property is well served by access to major traffic arterials with nearby Fitzgerald Avenue forming the eastern frame of the central city.”

- Article supplied by Colliers