Heritage church for sale
TWO century-old church buildings in Mt Eden are up for sale because the cost of repairs is too much for parishioners to take on.
Selling old churches has become the new norm, real estate agents say, as congregations are faced with hefty restoration and earthquake strengthening bills.
But any commercial investors are left in an awkward position because of tight heritage rules on what can happen to the buildings.
The St James Church and its hall sit on the corner of View and Esplanade roads.
The site was valued this year at $3.8 million. Earthquake strengthening work is needed for both buildings.
The buildings have second-tier heritage protections which restrict what any new owner can do to them.
The cost of repairing them is far too high for the parish to cope with, Mt Eden Pacific Island Presbyterian Church minister Ngatokotoru Ine says.
The church would rather use its funds for a new building for the 60-strong congregation, he says.
The hall was built in 1885 and the church in 1900. The hall was closed almost three years ago after being deemed too dangerous by Auckland Council.
Windows have been smashed and roofing tiles need replacing. There are also large cracks in the walls, Ine says. The congregation still gathers in the church every Sunday.
‘‘We love the place . . . and we’d love to repair the church so we can stay.
‘‘But it’s impossible,’’ the minister says.
Stanley Palmer of the Maungawhau-Mt Eden Village Society says his group cannot salvage the buildings because they are technically outside of the village area.
Palmer, a noted New Zealand painter, was influential in securing the $1.8 million needed for the restoration of Mt Eden Methodist Church in 2010. It is now a community centre.
Palmer hopes the 129-year-old hall will not be left to decay.
Ray White is managing the sale. Agent Phillip Hill says many churches are in the same boat as the St James.
Buyers believe it is not commercially viable to save both buildings, Hill says.
Any plan for the site needs to be creative to satisfy both heritage and commercial needs, he says.
Bayleys Real Estate agrees but says the issue of building strengthening is not restricted to churches and church halls.
‘‘That’s offices, factories, warehouses, shopping malls, and small suburban retail locations. It’s an enormous issue for every commercial and industrial property owner,’’ national commercial and industrial property manager John Church says.
Earthquake strengthening can cost between 10 and 20 per cent of the building’s value, he says.
‘‘So for a central city office block worth $20 million, the owner is potentially looking at anywhere between $2 and $4 million worth of structural work to get it up to 100 per cent of new building standard.
‘‘From that perspective, it is easy to see why the seven-figure costs of building-strengthening work required at a number of churches around New Zealand has been deemed too sizeable a burden for many parishioners to carry.’’