Downtown Auckland’s Achilles House for sale with concept plans to convert it into a 70-room heritage hotel. The landmark six-level, freehold, office building with ground floor retail is being marketed by Bruce Whillans and Jeremy Sim, of Whillans Realty Group, with tenders closing on 7 March 2024.

Constructed in 1903, the 3,919 square metre building on the corner of Customs Street East and Commerce Street once served as a kauri gum trading post for L.D. Nathan & Co.

Whillans says the building is one of Auckland’s best hotel conversion opportunities given its proximity to Queen Street, Britomart and the city’s key tourism drivers. “With visitor numbers surging, Achilles House offers a relatively low cost of entry and quicker delivery compared to a new build hotel project.”

Sim believes the property, holds a pole position in downtown Auckland. “The immediate area is undergoing a major urban transformation, putting Achilles House right in the centre of Auckland’s luxury retail and five-star hotel precinct. More than $9 billion of public and private infrastructure projects are already underway or planned around the property including the International Convention Centre and Precinct Properties redevelopment of the Downtown Car Park.”

This urban regeneration will guarantee a high volume of pedestrian traffic and hotel patronage, says Sim.

“In the last five years we’ve seen two new five-star hotels open either side of Achilles House, Accor’s Sofitel So and TFE Hotels’ Hotel Britomart. The completion of a 57-Storey luxury apartment tower directly behind Achilles House has introduced new upmarket hospitality at ground level. And the opening of Commercial Bay in 2020, one block away has accelerated the influx of luxury retailers towards the city’s waterfront and Lower Queen Street. In the last two years, Van Cleef & Arples, Christian Louboutin, Rolex and Bvlgari have all opened new stores nearby.”

“Achilles House is less than five minutes’ walk from the Britomart train station and the downtown ferry terminal. The completion of the new underground City Rail Link, is scheduled for 2026 and it will double the capacity of the existing rail network. This will halve commuting times for people living in the western suburbs and Achilles House will be strategically positioned less than 100 metres from one of the city’s busiest underground train stations.”

Sim says the building’s classic external architecture has stood the test of time, providing the backdrop for a hotel or backpacker conversion. “Interior features include polished kauri flooring, exposed timber columns, and the building’s signature arched windows.”

In the meantime, Achilles House is currently returning a holding income of $NZD $1.1 million providing investors with cashflow while they work up designs and obtain planning approval. Nearly all the office tenants are subject to landlord demolition clauses, or have a final lease expiry by 2025, says Sim. “The opportunity also exists to convert part of the ground floor retail into hotel lobby space and revitalise the retail and hospitality offering.”

The office floors, which are approximately 670 square metres each, feature a three-metre floor to ceiling height. There is an abundance of natural light with some tenancies having glimpses of the Waitemata Harbour. The top floor has exposed timber framing, skylights, and a soaring ceiling height delivering some of the most exceptional character space in the city, adds Sim.

Ignite Architects’ preliminary designs demonstrate how the top five levels of Achilles House can be converted into a 70-room hotel. The floorplates enable an array of layout configurations with room sizes ranging between 30 and 52 square metres. Whillans says the building’s two street frontages and second lift well also provide the opportunity for separate entrances and back of house services.

Achilles House, is for sale by tender, closing 4:00pm, 7th March 2024. To request a copy of the Information Memorandum please contact the marketing agent, Whillans Realty Group, Bruce Whillans via the contact details below.