Skyline Enterprises Ltd has put one of its cornerstone property holdings on the market.
The Chester Building, on the corner of Shotover and Camp Sts in Queenstown’s CBD, is for sale by negotiation with Bayleys Queenstown.
It signals the company’s first divestment in almost 20 years.
Skyline CEO Geoff McDonald says the decision to put the three-storey building up for sale ‘‘is not a massive strategic play’’.
McDonald says Skyline’s been approached a couple of times over the past few years inquiring if they had any interest in selling, and given international borders are again open — leading to more international interest around town — they’ve decided to test the water.
‘‘If someone … came along at the right price, we would be interested to sell it, but we’re not proactively, or assertively, trying to sell it.
‘‘If it doesn’t sell, or we don’t get the right kind of price, that’s fine.’’
Skyline snapped up the Chester Building and seven others in July 2004, for about $60 million from Asian owners who had aggregated them.
That was the business’ first foray into property-holding.
Others purchased at that time were Eichardt’s, a former vacant lot beside it, the Dairy Corner (now Absoloot Hostel), the Town Pier building, Wakatipu Arcade and O’Connells.
Last summer, Skyline bought a building in The Mall, leased to Paddy Gaddy restaurant, beside its long-owned Skyline Arcade.
McDonald says the Chester Building’s not the biggest priority in the group, but it’s still in a good location.
Being marketed by Bayleys Queenstown, through agent Chris Campbell, listing info says the three-storey building has a net lettable area of just over 1500 square metres, comprising 13 unit titles.
The high-profile ground floor tenancy is unoccupied, while the remainder of the building houses long-established street-side tenants, lawyers and accountancy firms.
There’s first- and second-floor office and boardroom space, and various outside deck areas accessed from those floors.
