A fully leased city fringe investment property with an entertaining past as the former Theatre Royal building is for sale, offering investors a chance to secure a centrally positioned commercial asset in a tightly held suburban precinct.

Located close to Eden Park and the Kingsland train station, the building at 486 New North Road sits on a circa-384sqm site with favourable Business-Local Centre zoning along the vibrant Kingsland village retail and commercial strip.

The building has a total floor area of 582sqm, comprising retail and commercial space on the ground and first floors plus another office/showroom tenancy beneath, accessed via a laneway to the left of the property.

The multi-tenanted and fully occupied property returns net annual income of $310,239 plus GST, with a strong weighted average lease term of around 5.9 years across a diverse mix of five commercial tenancies along with a rooftop cell tower, and a digital billboard on the rear face of the building, visible from Eden Park.

The ground floor is split into three tenancies with a smart retail premises at the street frontage, a character office with mezzanine level in the middle and a high-end hair salon to the rear of the building. Level one is currently leased to a consultancy business as office space, but could be utilised as a two-bedroom residential apartment given that full kitchen and bathroom facilities are in place. On the lower level, there is a boutique showroom tenancy occupied by a lighting business.

The building has been seismically strengthened to A-Grade standard and refurbished to suit modern business needs. Many of the original features have been retained, including the characterful exposed interior brickwork and polished wood floors, says Phil Haydock of Bayleys Auckland Metro Markets team, who is taking the property to auction on 16th April with colleague James Were.

“This is a stunning, thoughtfully refurbished property that still has a respectful nod to its past with the ‘Royal’ branding, but which caters to a broad range of occupiers doing business in this enduringly popular suburb,” says Haydock.

“The split-risk income across multiple occupiers should provide confidence for a new owner. The building has a good leasing history, with the street front retail premises having recently been occupied for 26 years by a jewellery business, and quickly re-leased to another business in a multi-offer situation.

“There is rarely any retail vacancy in Kingsland, with locals and visitors to the suburb enjoying the eclectic and wide range of retail, service and hospitality offerings.”

Kingsland is well-connected to the public transport network with regular bus services, and rail via Kingsland Station for direct access to the CBD once the City Rail Link (CRL) opens.
Were says the opening of the CRL project next year will provide enhanced connectivity for Kingsland residents – and Eden Park-goers – across the broader rail network.

“The former Mount Eden train platform is being enlarged and redeveloped into the new Maungawhau station, which will cover both the existing Kingsland to Grafton line and the new Maungawhau to Karanga-a-hape Station line.

“Those transport improvements add weight to the subject property, as it provides commuter benefits for staff and business owners.”

Built in 1915 as a picture theatre by early cinema entrepreneur John Benwell, the building was praised by the Auckland Star newspaper on opening night for having great taste in design and decoration, a picture screen framed in gold, and soft, restful lighting. The theatre passed through a number of theatre operator hands and finally closed as a cinema after more than 60 years before being refurbished for contemporary commercial use.