Iconic Invercargill building to be auctioned

Iconic Invercargill building to be auctioned

An Invercargill building much-admired for its imposing presence is to be auctioned by Bayleys on 18 September and enquiry is coming in from around New Zealand.

Affectionately referred to as ‘The Bank’, 21 The Crescent was built in 1908 for the National Bank and is currently home to a picture framing business and an accountancy practice.

Marketed by David Murray and Phil Hutton of Bayleys Southland, the property is strategically located at Invercargill’s monument intersection on the corner of Dee Street, Tay Street and The Crescent, with a separate building at 7 Clyde Street also part of the auction offering.

“The dominant building is 21 The Crescent being the historic old National Bank and this backs on to an adjacent building, 7 Clyde Street which is vacant at present. Depending on what a new owner decides to use the bank building for in the future, the secondary building could provide car parking or supporting amenities for the main building,” explains Mr Murray.

The bank building has an Historic Places Category 1 rating meaning that the entire building is protected whilst the Clyde Street secondary building has a Category 3 rating whereby it is ‘desirable’ for the facade to be protected to maintain the streetscape aspect.

“The old bank is truly a beautiful building and has been magnificently maintained – as banks of that era generally were,” says Mr Murray, director of Bayleys Southland, adding that this is a flagship auction property for the new Bayleys office which opened in Invercargill just one month ago.

“It is in pristine condition and has not been tampered with in terms of the integrity of the original architecture. The soaring internal spaces, ornate ceilings, the original staircase and the old vaults and safes are still there and I am sure that if the architect C.J. Brodrick were still alive, he would be delighted to see his building still remarkably true to his vision.”
The land area for 21 The Crescent is 381sq m with the three-level plus basement building area totalling 990sq m.

Foto ‘N’ Frame occupies a total 251sq m on the ground floor along with an approximately 71sq m ground floor mezzanine and around 117sq m of basement space. There are also some shared facilities and common areas as detailed in the Deed of Lease. The six-year lease commenced in November 2004 with two, three-year rights of renewal.

Brookland and Associates Chartered Accountants occupy the first and second floors and have upgraded these areas to a high standard. The lease includes first floor reception and office areas, a second floor area of approximately 275sq m and a small 20sq m basement space. Again, common and shared facilities are detailed in the lease document. A five-year lease commenced October 2005 with two, five-year rights of renewal.

The property is currently returning a total rental of $48,000 plus GST per annum.

The secondary building at 7 Clyde Street is in need of upgrading if it were to be occupied.

Zoned ‘Business Sub Area’, the property lends itself to a boutique hotel operation and with history and architectural detailing on its side, this could be a superb way to preserve the building which is undoubtedly one of Invercargill’s finest.

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