Whanganui District Council has no tenant timeframe for empty Victoria Ave building
A council-owned building in central Whanganui remains vacant, with no “confirmed timeframe for occupation”.
Whanganui District Council bought the Wanganui Furnishers property, which fronts Victoria Ave and runs through to St Hill St, in 2024 for $1.5 million.
In March 2025, then-chief executive David Langford said there had been a lot of interest and negotiations were underway with some parties.
“We are hopeful we will have a new tenant in the building, and it’ll be a good addition to the main street – a new business that the community will enjoy,” he said.
But it has remained empty since May that year.
This week chief strategy officer Sarah O’Hagan told the Chronicle the council received interest in the building earlier this year and signed up an agency.
“This resulted in an offer for long-term lease but this ultimately did not proceed,” O’Hagan said.
“While we haven’t secured a new occupant, the council has identified a number of priorities this triennium that will help inform the future of properties such as Wanganui Furnishers.
“These include reviewing the council’s commercial property holdings to determine our future role and investment priorities, alongside refreshing the Town Centre Regeneration Plan to support greater activity and vibrancy in the CBD.”
Key decisions “on how we deliver on those priorities” would be considered through the Long-Term Plan 2027-37.
O’Hagan said the building’s annual costs totalled about $5000, plus rates.
The property is one of three the council agreed to buy in 2024, along with nearby Wakefield Chambers and the Flynn properties on Ridgway St.
A $55m hotel and carpark was proposed as part of the council’s 2024-34 Long-term Plan, but scrapped after public consultation.
In September 2024, the council decided not to buy the Flynn properties.
O’Hagan said the building needed to be considered in a wider context, including whether continued council ownership, leasing or disposal would deliver the best long-term outcome for the central city and ratepayers.
“We don’t have a confirmed timeframe for occupation at this stage but recognise the importance of seeing the property back in productive use.”
Talking to the Chronicle in 2023, Wanganui Furnishers’ owner John Anderson said the property was made up of seven or eight structures, built at different times, and “all with their own story to tell”.
“One was constructed in the early 1900s as a photographer’s studio and dental practice,” Anderson said.
“It has the appearance of a brick house, but it was never used as a residence at all.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.