St John’s church sold for a creative boost
The St John Anglican Church, hall and grounds have been sold to the Southern Institute of Technology.
In a statement, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, the Rt Reverend Steven Benford, said it had been a difficult process as far as the parish was concerned but a really positive outcome for them. ‘‘They have been struggling to maintain this complex and the sale will enable the building to be preserved and used in news ways to benefit the wider community.
‘‘It will also free the parish to focus on its mission and ministry within Invercargill and beyond.’’
SIT says the church will become part of a larger creative centre between Tay and Esk streets that is likely to cost up to $14 to $15 million. It’s planned that the church will provide the exhibition, performance and teaching space, while the new building will accommodate most of the creative industry programmes, which are currently delivered from SIT’s Downtown site.
This will be funded from SIT’s reserves. The Creative Centre will include the church, a 3 storey, 2250m2 new building on the footprint of the church hall, an antrium
joining the two, and a cafe extension to the north of the church facing Esk St.
SIT’s programme manager for creative industries Kathryn McCully, in a statement, said that while the exhibitions and associated public programmes would be focussed on moving imagery, technology and interactivity, the door has also been left open for the other arts and creative practices to be part of the centre.
The demolition, strengthening and construction work would occur during the next two years with the completion in time for the 2021 academic year.
McCulloch Architects has been awarded the design work for the centre.