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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 7th December 2009 RENT DEAL LETS SPORTS TRUST JUMP TO STADIUM RENT DEAL LETS SPORTS TRUST JUMP TO STADIUMThe Tasman Regional Sports Trust has resolved a lease arrangement on its premises in Rutherford St, Nelson, and will move to its new home in Saxton Stadium early in the new year, trust chief executive Nigel Muir says. Mr Muir told the Nelson City Council earlier this year that the trust might not be able to take up tenancy at Sports House in Saxton Stadium at the time planned because of its lease in Rutherford St. The lease on the central city premises was due to expire in June 2011. Sports House, which is owned by Nelson city, was purpose-built within the stadium as the administrative hub for sporting codes and the trust’s base at Saxton Field. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 30 November 2009) REPORT CRITICAL OF ARTS CENTRETasman district councillors were to today decide whether to give money to a $28 million performing arts centre in Nelson, after considering a highly critical report on the project which casts doubt on the centre’s costings and benefits. Tasman District Council chief executive Paul Wylie says in his report that any decision which commits the district council to forking out for the proposed centre is likely to be controversial because of the number of Tasman ratepayers affected. In his 28-page report, which was to be tabled at today’s district council meeting, Mr Wylie is critical of the uncertainty and risk surrounding the project. One uncertainly was the potential high-risk conflict between the ‘‘irresistible promise of an iconic building’’ and the reality of an immovable $28 million budget, Mr Wylie said. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 1 December 2009) COSTS FOR PROPOSED LEE DAM BALLOONThe estimated cost for the Lee dam project to supply water to the Waimea Plains, Richmond and Brightwater has blown out to more than $30 million. Waimea Water Augmentation Committee chairman Murray King would not say how much the dam was now expected to cost because it has not received the final feasibility study report, but confirmed it would be more than the previous estimate of $30m. The final report from consultants Tonkin-& Taylor is to be completed this month. The project involves building a community-owned dam in the Lee Valley to store 13 million cubic metres of water to supply rural and urban users. As part of its community consultation the committee sent a survey on Friday to 6500 property owners seeking their views on the dam. It has a two-week deadline and the results will be given at a community meeting in February. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 1 December 2009) SOLAR SAVER SCHEME GETS UNDER WAYUnder the new scheme, the council will meet the cost of installing the system and the home owner will pay it back, including interest, as part of their rates over a period of up to 10 years, while benefiting from lower power bills. The ballot was oversubscribed, with 387 households wanting to be picked for the first year of installations. The council will install solar hot-water systems in the Montgomery Square Superloo and Riverside Pool. The city’s parking meters already run on solar power. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 1 December 2009) NO TASMAN MONEY FOR ARTS CENTRECity Council 'will continue dialogue' Nelson city ratepayers will have to fund a regional performing arts centre alone, after a unanimous vote by Tasman district councillors not to put money into the controversial project. The Tasman District Council didn’t waste time making its decision yesterday, taking just over 20 minutes to decide not to help fund the $28 million centre the Nelson City Council wants to build near the Rutherford Hotel. The Tasman council has repeatedly said it does not believe the centre is financially viable, and that it would be too much of a strain on Tasman ratepayers. It decided in 2006 to remove the funding it had set aside for the project in its 10-year plan – a stance it confirmed earlier this year. Councillors met yesterday to discuss a highly critical report on the centre proposal by council chief executive Paul Wylie. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 2 December 2009) DO MORE HOMEWORK, COUNCIL IS URGEDTourism and conference industry professionals want Nelson City Council to do a lot more homework before committing the region to a performing arts and conference centre in the form currently proposed. Resounding feedback after the first day yesterday of a two-day public hearing on the multimillion-dollar project, was generally in support of a new venue, but for the council to consider a different model on a different site to that planned next to the Rutherford Hotel. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 2 December 2009) DOC CAMPSITES GO GREENLake Rotoiti’s Kerr Bay campsite will get an energy efficiency upgrade as part of the Department of Conservation’s outfitting of campsites around New Zealand, which includes adding solar panels, gas heating and shower timers. DOC director-general Al Morrison said energy efficient options were often seen as more expensive, but the department had found that they could lead to ‘‘massive’’ reductions to the bottom line, which would free up money for conservation work. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 2 December 2009) PETITION CALLS FOR RENT-RISE RELIEFMore than 1000 people support a petition by Mapua’s Touch the Sea Aquarium for relief from a ‘‘massive’’ 122 per cent rent rise, which the owner says may force him to close the business. The aquarium’s annual rent has increased from $4277 to $9250, after the Tasman District Council re-evaluated the land the business sits on. The rent rise has prompted aquarium owner Murray Goss to put a petition together asking that the council pay the 40 per cent of the revised bill he says he can’t afford. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 3 December 2009) CENTRE UNSUSTAINABLE, WARNS BUSINESSMANA Nelson-based financial market speculator, who has twice warned the city council about its plans for large-scale spending, says Nelson does not have the critical mass needed to sustain a performing arts and conference centre. Paul Blackham, who moved to the region from London and maintains a close involvement with the global financial sector, said he was not sure how dismal global economic figures needed to get before the council realised what it was getting itself into. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 3 December 2009) ARCHITECT CRITICISES SITE AND SECRECYA Nelson architect says the city council’s stance of denying people access to information and an opportunity to have input into the proposed performing arts centre has resulted in a ‘‘lost opportunity’’. John Palmer and his wife Liz, who have an architecture practice in Nile St opposite the site earmarked for a largescale conference and performing arts centre, told councillors yesterday that while they supported the idea in principle, they did not like the choice of site. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 3 December 2009) $5M HEALTH CENTRE IN PIPELINEA group of Nelson health professionals, inspired by Richmond’s growth, plan to develop a $5 million ‘‘destination’’ health centre in Lower Queen St. Nelson radiologist and group spokesman Ben Castle said two properties neighbouring the Oakwoods Retirement Village had recently been bought after a two-year search for an appropriate piece of land. Plans are being developed for a health centre that incorporates GPs, a pharmacy, specialists, physiotherapists and a cafe. Dr Castle hopes the development will begin about the middle of next year, with the building becoming operational by 2011. The two sites totalled 3828 square metres and were valued at $1.4 million, Dr Castle said.  (The Nelson Mail, Friday 4 December 2009) SPRIG AND FERN EXPANDSThe Sprig and Fern Brewery is to expand into Motueka. Co-owner David Barrett confirmed that the company had been looking at the option for a long time and hopes it will be open within six months. The bar will be located in the former Bakehouse Cafe building in an alley between Tudor and Wallace streets. The company has advertised for an owner-operator to run the venture. Sprig and Fern has two bars in Nelson, one in Richmond, opened the Roots Bar in Takaka a couple of weeks ago and will launch a new bar in Brightwater next week. It also plans to open a bar in Tahunanui. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 4 December 2009) NEW SERVICE CENTREThe Nelson City Council’s new customer service centre will open on Monday. The council says the former post office on the ground floor of Civic House has undergone a transformation to make it spacious, light and attractive, with more counters. More staff will also be based there, whereas previously, customer service officers were spread over many different areas of the council, which was confusing and frustrating for ratepayers and visitors, it says. The new centre will have a minimum of four staff on duty at any one time and two telephonists. The centre will be opened by Mayor Kerry Marshall on Monday and there will be hourly lucky spot prizes for customers during the morning. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 4 December 2009) PROPERTY WATCHHuge interest in ACC building The ACC building in Collingwood St has all but sold, attracting 13 bids worth a total of $51 million, Bayleys Nelson principal Graeme Vining said. The near-new two-storeyed building, on which ACC has a 12-year lease, was marketed for sale by deadline treaty which closed on Wednesday. Mr Vining said a bid had been accepted, subject to approval by the board of both the vendor and purchaser. The purchaser is an out-of-town company. Mr Vining said five unconditional bids were submitted and you could ‘‘throw a blanket over the top five – there wasn’t a lot between them.’’ The sale showed there was a market for $5m-price-range buildings in Nelson, he said. ‘‘For A-grade, government-tenanted properties, there’s huge demand.’’ The building has a rateable value of $2.452m. One bid for immaculate property More than 62 groups visited a home at 125 Hill St, Richmond, during the four weeks it was marketed by Summit agent Mark Rumsey. However, the three double-bedroom home on a 1500-square-metre elevated section attracted just one $510,000 bid at auction. After negotiations, that bidder bought the property five days later for an undisclosed sum. Mr Rumsey said the $450,000 RV failed to take into account extensive work that had been done on the place. ‘‘It was immaculate in every possible way.’’ It was also unusual to get an elevated, flat property of that size in such a good location, he said. Work starts on new CRT centre Years of planning are finally coming to fruition, with work having started on Combined Rural Trader’s new service centre at 32 Main Rd, Hope. Regional manager John Lennon said building consent was obtained a few weeks ago and work had been all go since. It is hoped construction will be finished by mid-April, allowing CRT to begin to trade from there in early May. The centre will be three times as large as CRT’s existing premises in McGlashen Ave, Richmond. Meanwhile, two sites in Lower Queen St, which CRT planned to build on before the Environment Court ruled against the idea, are set to become the home of a new one-stop-shop medical centre. Quotable Value records show the sites, at 349 and 333 Queen St, sold in July for $885,000 each. One has an RV of $200,000 and the other has an RV of $462,000. Old Rockgas building renovated The former Rockgas building at 163 Haven Rd is now the home of Norris Management Services. It leased the building through Summit commercial agent Bevan Dixon and spent 2 1⁄2 weeks renovating it. The building houses the accounting, insolvency and employment relations team of Norris Management and state-of-the-art video conferencing used in its work. ‘‘While the facility is a first for Nelson, private individuals may want to use the facility simply to keep in touch with family or friends, or to be part of an event or occasion which they may not be able to attend for various reasons,’’ NMS managing director Pat Norris said. House sells online within week A two-bedroomed standalone home at 8a Black St in Stoke attracted 11 offers within a week of being advertised online, Ray White agent Brent Palmer said. ‘‘I was blown away.’’ The first offer came in the day after it was advertised. The property has an RV of $255,000 and sold for $280,000. It appealed to investors, first-home buyers and retirees, Mr Palmer said. MyPages moves to bigger office The newly established MyPages phone directory service has shifted to a neighbouring site, after outgrowing its previous space. Director Rob Stevenson said last week’s move from 4 Akersten St to 6 Akersten St was ‘‘much needed’’. ‘‘After three months, we had outlived our old office after a period of steady staff recruitment.’’ The new space is four times bigger. MyPages is planning to publish its first Nelson Bays directory for all businesses and services next autumn. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 5 December 2009) DID YOU KNOW?Duke & Cooke independent valuations can be used for mortgage or refinancing. THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKA smart husband buys his wife very fine china so she won't trust him to wash it. |
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