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Tram stop building clicks the tickets for commercial investors

Bayleys

Monday 11 July 2011, 3:37PM

By Bayleys

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The character Tram Stop building in Mt Eden Road – benefitting from a diverse range of tenants and with the opportunity for further commercial expansion.
The character Tram Stop building in Mt Eden Road – benefitting from a diverse range of tenants and with the opportunity for further commercial expansion. Credit: Bayleys

AUCKLAND

A landmark building alongside what was once one of Auckland’s main tram routes has been
placed on the market for sale for the first time in 25 years.

The solidly-built 1920scharacter building in Mount Eden Road is affectionately named ‘The
Tram Stop’ - after it encompassed what was previously a much smaller structure which
sheltered waiting tram users from the wind and rain. The tram service along Mt Eden Road
ran from the early 1900s until 1956.

Now a boutique retail block, the property is fully tenanted – with separate retail, office space,
and private accommodation, as well as ancillary use of the building structure, combining to
generate rental earnings of $154,619 per annum.

The tenancy schedule within The Tram Stop building consists of:

  • A cafe and gourmet foodstore occupied by Dulcie May Kitchen Ltd, which has a lease and right of renewals through until 2014
  • A gourmet bakery occupied by Wild Wheat Ltd
  • A men’s fashion clothing outlet occupied by Strada Fashions Ltd which has a lease and right of renewals stretching through to 2016
  • An first-storey office space occupied by a small accountancy firm which has a lease and right of renewals progressing through to 2014 and
  • An first-story office space and adjoining two-bedroom flat occupied by a legal services firm which has a lease and right of renewals progressing through to 2015.

Additional rental revenue is generated from prominent advertising signage on the sides of the
building, as well as from having a Telecom mobile repeater on the roof which has a lease and
right of renewals extending to 2019.

There are 11 car parks behind the building - which occupies 847 square metres of land. The
upstairs level is accessed by a separate entrance located to one side of the building.

The Tram Stop building and land is being marketed for sale at auction on July 27 by Bayleys
Auckland salesmen Nicolas Ching and James Chan, who said the diverse tenancy schedule
of the property minimised the risk of relying solely on the commercial operations of just one
tenant.

Mr Ching said that with a zone 1 business activity classification for the site, there was
considerable potential to develop additional commercial space at the rear of the property.

“The building sits on the extreme front border of the land, along a 19.8 metre stretch of a
high profile arterial transport route. The positioning of the retail units allows for the potential
to further develop the rear of the site into a modern multi-level commercial office space
with parking facilities on the ground floor. Concept plans have been drawn up for such a
development on that rear portion of the land,” he said.