High-profile café and commercial retail block for sale

A block of retail and commercial units overlooking one of the country’s busiest state highways in a well-known arts-and-crafts Waikato township has been placed on the market for sale.

The seven-unit site and adjoining residential flat at 29 Main Road Tirau – a township linking Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua – sits on State Highway One. The motorway has a 50 kilometre-per-hour speed limit through Tirau town centre – effectively acting as a ‘brake’, encouraging motorists to stop at the town’s numerous cafes, or craft and antique shops.

The freehold land and buildings at 29 Main Road are now being marketed for sale at auction at 11am on December 6 by Bayleys Hamilton. Salespeople Rebecca Bruce and Jason Kong said the property sustained three buildings – two housing the retail and accommodation components, and the elevated building housing the Bugger Cafe.

Ms Bruce said the 438 square metres of shops and commercial buildings were situated within the Tirau town centre 8B zone, sitting on some 1,739 square metres of L-shaped land - containing a well-balanced mix of tenancies whose core business activities serviced both passing motorists, and Tirau locals.

Ms Bruce said activities permitted under the town centre classification included retailing, food and beverage operations, offices, education businesses, and healthcare facilities. The various buildings within the Main Road property have new build standards ratings of between 75 and 90 percent.

She said the seven tenancies within the block generated a combined annual net rental income of $87,000 + GST. The property also encompassed parking for cars – both to the side of the cafe, and down the rear of the site and sides accessing the other tenancies. Additional substantial unmetered parking was also available along the length of Main Road in both directions immediately in front of the property.

The seven tenancies encompass:
• Bugger Café in a 150-square metre site on a current three-year lease expiring in 2021 with two further three-year rights-of-renewal
• Real estate firm Rural Lifestyle and Sales in a 102-square metre site currently on a three-year lease expiring in 2021 with one further three-year rights-of-renewal
• The Christmas Heirloom Company shop in a 38-square metre site on a current two-year expiring in 2020 with two further two-year rights-of-renewal
• The Motivator Ltd in a 42-square metre site with a current two-year lease expiring in 2020 with one further three-year right-of-renewal
• Skinique Beauty Therapy in a 42-square metre site with a current one-year lease expiring in 2019 with two further one-year rights-of-renewal
• South Waikato Industrial Automation Ltd in a 42-square metre site with a current two-year lease expiring in 2019 with one further two-year right-of-renewal
and
• A one-bedroom flat is tenanted on a monthly lease.

Mr Kong said South Waikato District Council’s Operative Plan for Tirau identified the town’s main street as a location for high quality boutique retail properties catering to both passing travelers and the local population – sustaining a “country village character rather than a slice of big city.”

“The town centre zone intends to retain the existing attributes of Tirau to ensure it remains a pleasant place for people to stop and wander from shop to shop,” Mr Kong said.

“These attributes are based on a streetscape consisting of mainly small single-storey shops (rather than nationwide corporate chains), and a range of boutique retail stores presenting an attractive form to the street _ with space and scope for entertainment and street activities along the paved and grassed frontages of the main thoroughfare.

“The property at 29 Main Road and its tenancy schedule totally reflects this framework. The quality of retail premises within the Main Road strip are important parts of the success of Tirau as a boutique retail centre. The main street of Tirau is also State Highway One and performs a key role in the transportation network of the district and wider region.”

A block of retail and commercial units overlooking one of the country’s busiest state highways in a well-known arts-and-crafts Waikato township has been placed on the market for sale.

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