'Fed-up' owner selling city units

Apartment specialist City Sales sold eight places at its final auction last year and today takes a group of inner-city units to market.

The agency is offering three Railway Campus units at its 12.30pm auction in Hopetoun Alpha at 19 Beresford Square. The Hong Kong owner of these units was "fed up"and was quitting the places without putting a reserve price on them, City Sales said.

Railway Campus, Jim Speedy's 223-apartment conversion and extension of the historic Auckland Railway Station, suffered severe leaks and its roof needed replacing.

About 400 students were forced to evacuate the Quay Park building in 2007 and Auckland University then terminated its lease because the place was uninhabitable and needed a $6 million fix-up.

Last month, the first tenants moved back in which gave some relief to investors who thought they were buying a dependable investment because it came with a university lease.

Owners who could not rent their places for months were estimated to have lost a combined $4 million rent last year because the building was empty and waiting for maintenance work to begin.

To read the full NZ Herald story click here

Posted: 4 Feb 2009

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