The Howick RSA’s largely-abandoned building and land on Wellington Street will be sold.
The building, home to the Howick Returned and Services Community for 40 years, shut its doors almost two years ago in anticipation of a major joint venture redevelopment on the site.
Members were ushered to take up temporary residence at the Prospect of Howick/Good Home’s Bosun’s Bar on Picton Street where the Eternal Flame and Ode of Remembrance Light were transferred on May 30, 2021.
The site’s redevelopment was to have taken up to two years however Covid lockdowns and the impact on supply chains and a subsequent massive increase in development costs saw a mutual scrapping of the joint venture plans, deemed to have become untenable.
The Auckland Council-backed height restriction of 9 metres was also a factor.
This left the RSA executive with no option but to consider its options given it was still paying out thousands of dollars a month for rates, insurances and other bills in a building that no longer met current building codes with estimates it could cost up to $1 million to bring it up to standard.
A vote at a recent extraordinary general meeting resulted in an almost unanimous decision to divest themselves of the property which will be sold by tender.
Howick RSA president Ray Sangster said the joint venture plan was the panacea to the executive who had seen the steady decline of not only its membership base but the hospitality component which was bleeding funds.
The bar and restaurant has been running at a loss for many years. Continuing significant overheads and a building it could not occupy meant selling the property was the only viable option.
Sangster said in 2021 before the move to Bosuns that the RSA executive committee’s plan was to future-proof and build a base that would last another 100 years.
“We want to build a financial base with strong income streams. This includes bar and restaurant trading and potential income from apartments,” Sangster said at the time.
A concept plan had been developed, in consultation with council. The demolition and building works were due to start in late October, 2021. The redeveloped property was to include apartments, gym and car park, with the new RSA Clubrooms occupying the ground floor.
The Howick RSA Property Trust executive is engaging a property agent and Sangster said the proceeds of the sale will comfortably cover the mounting debt.
Howick RSA, like many throughout the country, said it needed to re-evaluate to its core function and purpose – the welfare of its returned and service members and their dependents [through its Poppy Trust] and supporting the welfare of its non-military members and local not-for-profit groups [Community Welfare Trust].
Its “purposes” also include its continuing focus on commemoration as well as its commitment to education within the Howick district.
Sangster reiterates that chief among its strategies is to protect the values of the RSA.
“The RSA currently owns and [formerly occupied] a building that is no longer fit for purpose,” he said.
“The building is too big, requires significant funds to maintain it and does not meet current building standards.
“Therefore, rather than continuing to sink funds into the property, the property should be sold and the funds protected for the true purpose of the RSA.”
He said the Property Trust Constitution is very clear on the distribution of funds realised by the sale of the building under RSA rules.
“All current debts and liabilities will be paid and a sound financial base created for the future.
“Any remaining funds are for the re-establishment of the founder Howick Returned and Services and Community Club Incorporated.”
The RSA will consider its position as to an alternative headquarters following the property’s sale. “It’s about keeping an institution alive,” Sangster said.
