The Eureka House property at 15-19 Ballarat St — on The Mall — comprises four buildings.
The primary one is the two-level Eureka House, fronting The Mall, which dates back to 1864, just after Queenstown was first settled.
Originally Powell’s Family Hotel, it was for a long time the Colonial Bank of New Zealand, but for the past several decades it’s been occupied by food and beverage venues including the legendary Chico’s — the same tenant currently leases Captains Restaurant downstairs and Crew Room upstairs.
Also off The Mall is vape store Vapo, which is in a small weatherboard building constructed in about the 1970s.
Behind Eureka House is a two-level building built in the early 1980s occupied by ground-floor Habana bar, accessed off a brick-paved walkway, and upstairs Birdy bar, accessed by stairs off Searle Lane — again, one operator leases both.
Opposite Habana is the upmarket Bardeaux bar, a single-level building with a timber deck which was built for staff accommodation in about 1961.
It’s owned by a local family partnership and is listed by Colliers Queenstown commercial brokers Mary-Jo Hudson and Rory O’Donnell — it’s for sale by deadline private treaty closing August 27.
O’Donnell says the sale’s a rare opportunity to acquire CBD freehold as a lot of assets in this area sell off-market.
He notes the buildings are presented in good condition, and Eureka House has just been earthquake-strengthened.
The leases are long-term — a five-year right of renewal’s been added to both the Eureka House leases to take their expiry date out to 2043.
Hudson says there are redevelopment clauses in the leases but they’re in favour of both tenant and landlord, with the tenant given first option to come back.
Eureka House is protected by a category 3 heritage classification in the council’s proposed district plan, so a proposed 12m height limit would likely apply to the back portion, O’Donnell suggests.
Any redevelopment also has to allow for continued pedestrian access between The Mall and Searle Lane.
As to who’d be keen to buy, O’Donnell says there’ll be people "attracted to the Queenstown story, the growth, and they’ll see it’s still a tight CBD, so that’s why we get strong yields and rental growth and ultimately capital growth"
Hudson: "And some will be attracted to the heritage."
"It’ll attract a broad range of interest," O’Donnell adds.
