Briscoes site in Timaru ripe for value-add

A large Timaru commercial property with a park outlook is set to appeal to investors, owner occupiers or developers looking to add value.

Currently home to Briscoes, the 77 - 83 Evans St site is for sale by Deadline Private Treaty and is being marketed by Colliers brokers Courtney and Nick Doig.

Briscoes has occupied the 2130sqm building for many years, but its final lease will expire in late 2024, creating an opportunity for an owner occupier or value add investor/ developer to benefit from this high profile opportunity, Courtney Doig said.

The property enjoys an expansive 80m frontage to State Highway 1, the main arterial from Christchurch to Dunedin and sits among a cluster of other national operators including, Pak’nSave, KFC, McDonalds, NPD, and Supercheap Auto.

‘‘The investment is further underpinned by a significant 3315sqm land holding and is adjacent to Ashbury Park so could benefit from a park outlook with future repositioning of the building.’’

The building’s potential is further enhanced by its rating as 100% of NBS.

Nick Doig said the opportunity will appeal to those investors and value add-buyers who are not afraid of a future project.

‘‘The site is well poised for enhancement and repositioning, particularly given the building’s extensive frontage to Evans St, providing for a logical redevelopment into multiple tenancies.

‘‘It is a great location and is only 1.3km from Harvey Norman and the consented Showground large format retail development, which will be anchored by Countdown and Bunnings, cementing this corridor, north of the CBD, as the large format retail destination.

‘‘The net annual rental of $356,111 from the start of November, provides good cashflow while the new owner weights up their future options for repositioning.’’

The site benefits from approximately 40 onsite car parts, plus a lease agreement with Timaru District Council for additional car parking.

The Timaru economy is buoyant. Growth in the district’s economy and population were ahead of national rates and domestic tourism was strong, according to provisional estimates from economic consultants Infometrics in its quarterly economic monitor report for Venture Timaru.

The economy grew 4.3 per cent over the year to June 2021, slightly ahead of the national growth rate of 4.2 per cent, ‘‘an abnormally strong result’’ as the previous year includes the lockdown-affected June 2020 quarter, the report said.

‘‘Activity in the June 2021 quarter was 5.5 per cent higher than 2019, indicative of underlying growth.’’