Inner-city site sold

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 6

Inner-city site sold

The former New Zealand Motor Corporation site, which ran from .Armagh Street to Gloucester Street, has been sold, mainly for shops. Negotiations for the sale have taken nearly a year. With extras such as office equipment and a $35,000 heating system, the property 1 has cost a local development company nearly $1 million, according to a spokesman who did not. wish his or his company’s name to be released yet. The cost of the property alone, however, was $910,000, the 1979 Government valuation, said Mr J. W. Melville, of Challenge Properties (Estate Agents). Ltd. The premises had been

passed in at $940,000' when - auctioned in conjunction with ’ Robert Brown Real Estate last November.. A decision has not yet been made on how the property will be developed, but it is unlikely that the final . plans will include a shopping mall from Gloucester Street to Armagh Street. Most of the buildings will remain. Negotiations are now taking place with two or three main tenants. The development company is considering at least two restaurants, and a North Island cabaret company has expressed interest in opening a cabaret-restaurant. It is hoped that work will start on the new retail development next year.