- Ezra Eini is selling the historic Bruce Woollen Mill in Milton due to heritage restrictions.
- The mill, birthplace of Swanndri, closed in 2011 but earns $185,000 annually from tenants.
- Eini was fined $52,000 in 2024 for illegally storing 5000 tyres at the site.
A historic woollen mill has hit the market for sale after escaping demolition.
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Ezra Eini, who bought the iconic Bruce Woollen Mill in Milton, Clutha, in 2012, told OneRoof that heritage restrictions had stalled his redevelopment plans, prompting him to sell to a new generation of investors.
Eini’s company had begun demolishing the 19th‑century Union Street buildings in 2022, but Heritage New Zealand intervened and halted the work, which he said was essential to developing the 8.7‑hectare site.
Bruce Woollen Mill is an iconic presence in Milton. It was the birthplace of the much‑loved Swanndri clothing brand, and for nearly a century, its workers produced textiles and goods found in homes across New Zealand. At its peak, Milton blankets were a staple in bedrooms nationwide.
The 8.7ha site sits on the edge of town and generates $185,000 a year in rental income. Photo / Supplied
It closed as a woollen mill in 2011, but according to the listing on OneRoof, it still brings around $185,000 per annum from multiple tenants.
The mill hit the headlines in 2024, when Eini and his company were successfully prosecuted by Otago Regional Council for storing end-of-life tyres at the site in breach of national environmental standards.
The court heard that Eini's company was told that it needed resource consent to store the tyres, but the number of tyres continued to increase. When council enforcement officers visited the property, they observed a truck unloading further tyres onto a pile. The council estimated there were 5000 tyres at the site in March 2023.
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Dunedin-based Eini told OneRoof that he bought the mill because the rates were just $4000, compared to around $200,000 for a similar site in Dunedin.
He said that Milton’s geography between Dunedin and Queenstown Lakes made an ideal location for food delivery and storage businesses.
Kelleher listing agent Peter Ryder says the former woollen mill presents “a rare opportunity to secure a substantial and well-known property on the edge of town".
The woolsheds were used for processing Swanndri’s wool in the early days of the iconic New Zealand company’s history. Photo / Supplied
In his listing, he says the land is predominantly zoned industrial and has around 70m of State Highway 1 street frontage.
“With multiple access points and a prominent roadside profile, the site offers genuine flexibility for a range of future uses,” he says.
The property, he says, is "anchored by two striking classic brick buildings", and offers 2.03ha of floor space.
“All previous pricing should be disregarded. This iconic property is for definite sale,” he says, noting that it is being offered to buyers "as is, where is".
- Union Street, in Milton, Clutha, is for sale by negotiation
