Broadway Leaseholds Go Well at Auction

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 755, 30 August 1929, Page 11

Broadway Leaseholds Go Well at Auction

OLD RAILWAY YARDS PRICES EXCEED RESERVES An important move in the development of Newmarket's business centre was made at midday today when teases of eight valuable sections i nthe railway subdivision at the corner of Broadway and Remuera Road were sold by auction. As a result of the sale the New Zealand Government Railways will benefit by <£2,027 10s a year for the next 21 years, and probably more thereafter when future leases are readjusted on a valuation basis. The sale, which took place in the Chamber of Commerce rooms, was carried out by Messrs. Palethorpe and Parkes, Mr. H. G. Palethorpe being the auctioneer. There was an attendance of more than 100, and from the outset bidding was both keen and steady. In all cases except one, the price reached was over the upset figure, several of the lots fetching exceptionally good prices. The successful bidders purchased leases in perpetuity with provision for readjustment of rentals at intervals of 21 years. Special interest was centred on Lot 1 of the eight subdivided sections. This is of 12.1 perches with a frontage of nearly 123ftincluding frontages on Broadway, the corner itself, and on Remuera Road. The upset rental was fixed at £975 a year. Bidding opened at £6OO, running in increases of £SO to £950, thence to £975, when it was sold. Lot 2, with a frontage of 31ft and an area of 5.7 perches, fronting on Broadway and next to the corner, attracted an initial offer of £l5O and was sold after brisk bidding for £225. The upset rental was £221. The next lot on the Broadway frontage was reserved at £159. The opening bid for this section of 5.6 perches with a frontage of 24ft was £IOO, and the selling price £l6O. The farthest lot on the Broadway site, with an area of 6.4 perches and a frontage of 23ft, received an opening offer of £BS and was sold for £l4-2 10s. The upset rental was £127. On the Remuera Road frontage the section next to the corner—Lot 30— with a frontage of 31ft and an area of 5.7 perches, opened at £9O and was sold for £205—£65 above the upset rental. Lot 31, the next section, with a frontage of 24ft and an area of 5.6 perches, was sold for £l3O after the bidding had opened at £75. The upset rental was £9O. A good price was secured also for Lot 32, the next section along Remuera Road, with a frontage of 23ft and an area of 6.4 perches. The upset rental was £75. Bidding opened at £SO and the section was sold for £lO5. The last lot—No. 33 —with a frontage of 23ft and an area of 5.8 perches, was sold for £BS after bidding had opened at £SO. The upset rental was £66. Marked in the past by a giant advertising hoarding—one of the largest of its kind in the district—the old workshops corner with its iron fencing has been deserted and empty since the railway depot shifted its headquarters. The long, gaunt shells of disused sheds still stand on the eastern side and a few heaps of rusty iron and sleepers lie among the rank grass. A row of trees behind the Manukau Road fence ace as a breakwind and hide the desolate but valuable area beyond.

Under the terms of the sale the land is to be cleared for tenants, and a right-of-way giving access to every plot sold today will be formed. The eight lots which were offered and which changed hands by no means include the whole railway subdivision, although, being at the apex of the Broadway-Remuera Road triangle, they are the choicest.