The service for mums and their babies leases its Henry St premises off Ngai Tahu Property, which is selling the property by auction on February 25.
"We’re in limbo as to what is going to happen," longtime local Plunket volunteer Ella Wilson said.
"If somebody gets it and says, ‘well, I’m going to knock it down’, we won’t have a place to stay."
Any new owner has to give Plunket six months’ notice — and Plunket HQ is also working hard to find new premises.
However, Plunket’s plight stems from the national organisation’s decision to sell the Henry St premises in 2021.
In an off-market deal, Ngai Tahu Property paid $2.45 million for the property — below capital valuation — at a time it was pursuing a deal with Queenstown’s council to co-develop neighbouring land for a civic centre.
As a result, Plunket, which had its own purpose-built, mortgage-free property, then had to pay rent.
It also could no longer rent its upstairs two-bedroom flat, which it used to put towards staff wages.
Worse, it appears the $2.45m Plunket made from the sale was absorbed by the national organisation, which rankles with Ms Wilson.
That money ought to have come back to Queenstown, but did not, she said.
Asked if that money had been ring-fenced for Queenstown, Whanau Awhina Plunket’s finance, technology and commercial general manager Matt Kenny said: "I’m not going to comment on that. That’s for our board."
It was "not stuff we share out in the public"
When Allied Media reported in 2022 on the November 2021 sale to Ngai Tahu Property, apparently without consultation, Ms Wilson said the community should have been told about the sale because local people had "contributed so much over the years".
However, Mr Kenny said its chief executive had contacted Queenstown Plunket’s former group president at the time.
Asked for comment, Ngai Tahu Property general manager Blair Forgie said: "The sale of 8 Henry St is part of Ngai Tahu Property’s usual process of portfolio management.
"Until a buyer is found for the property it is too early to speculate on future options for the tenancy."
The current CV for 8 Henry St is $5,040,000 — over double what Ngai Tahu Property paid for it just over four years ago.
