The land and buildings associated with the now-shuttered Helen Lowry Hall of Residence in Karori have been placed on the market for sale with vacant possession, with the zoning overlay most likely to appeal to residential development entities.

Owned by the Ministry of Education, the multi-titled 5,694sqm site at 19 Blakey Avenue supports seven buildings of mixed age and condition totalling 2,080sqm, with one being sub-33-percent new building standard, and 11 designated car parks.

Primary access to the site is from Blakey Avenue, with a secondary narrower driveway off Karori Road. The property is about 4km west of the Wellington CBD.

The buildings comprise a series of two-storey houses which, until 2023, provided residential student accommodation for the University of Wellington, with capacity for 112 students. It was run independently of the university as a not-for-profit operation.

The individual blocks and houses variously offered single, twin share and triple share rooms, with most having communal self-catering kitchen facilities, along with kitchenettes and bathroom amenities on each floor. There are also communal facilities such as laundries, a gym, music room and study rooms, plus social spaces including games room, music room, and a main lounge.

The land is zoned Medium Density Residential which allows for development up to 11 metres or three storeys.

Mark Walker, Sarah Lyford, and Mark Hourigan of Bayleys Wellington Commercial are marketing the property by tender, closing 16th April.

While not ruling out the potential for a new owner to repurpose the existing buildings, Walker says the student accommodation sector is evolving with modern, purpose-built assets preferable in today’s market. He says the most likely scenario for the subject site is a cleverly designed residential development project.

“The Medium Density Residential zoning allows for a number of housing typographies including detached houses, townhouses, and low-rise apartments so the northwest facing near-flat site could be optimised to provide quality accommodation in an established residential street, leveraging the fact that Karori is one of the city’s preferred suburbs.

“Karori always has high appeal for homeowners given the city-fringe position, the high level of amenity, and good connectivity.

“The subject site has mature gardens, is less than five minutes from the nearest bus stop, and around 1km from the New World supermarket and Karori Normal School, so in terms of a suburban development site they don’t come much better than this.”

Lyford says developers are selectively returning to the market, opting for well-located sites in areas with strong amenity.

“Recent news that a high-profile developer has plans for the former Teachers’ Training College site in Kelburn – previously earmarked for a retirement village development – and that Stratum Management has been selected as the development partner for a mixed-use project on the former St John's Church site in Karori town centre, adds weight to this Blakey Avenue offering.

“This is an expansive site, with an established framework of trees and plantings, meaning a new development would bed in nicely with the surrounding neighbourhood.”

Helen Lowry Hall was founded on another site in 1948 by a group of Wellington College of Education students. The Blakey Avenue land was purchased in the 1960s, with three, two-storey buildings constructed. The former Department of Education acquired the land and buildings in the 1970s, and incrementally purchased neighbouring land, adding more buildings to expand the accommodation capacity.