Century-old church restored
A developer hopes a once-condemned church can become a source of pride in its Petone community.
Tony Cook bought the 136-year-old Wesley Church three years ago and has spent 11 months converting it into three luxury apartments.
Inspired by restored colonial villas in Ponsonby, Cook said he wanted to do his bit to preserve the character of the Lower Hutt suburb which has many early buildings and houses.
‘‘I think what I’ve done will make a lot of people happy and hopefully I’ve given a massive incentive for other historical building owners to do what I’ve done.’’
The building, built in 1883, fell into disuse in 2013 when it was identified as an earthquake risk.
He said the wooden building was in an ‘‘appalling’’ state when it came into his ownership and the former church had to be gutted and ‘‘built from the ground up’’.
‘‘It was a bit of an eyesore. Someone should have pulled it down.’’
Cook, who owns a joinery company, said the ‘‘absolutely beautiful’’ timber features had to be recreated and he spent many Sundays taking measurements himself and examining old photos and blueprints.
Only the roof trusses and some ceiling panelling were salvageable, he said.
While the exterior of the building was completely restored, the interior was divided into three, three-bedroom ‘‘residences’’ in a nearly complete rebuild which cost more than $2 million.
Three original leadlight windows had been moved from their original position at the eastern end of the building and were now features at the doorway to each residence.
Real estate agent Llew Kemeys said the ‘‘Wesley Residences’’ were a unique addition to the Petone housing market. The dwellings did not fit the description of most Petone apartments which were usually between 60 and 80 square metres.
Starting at 147sqm, excluding decks, outdoor areas and garages, they were bigger than most houses in the suburb, he said.
Hutt City Mayor Ray Wallace said the restoration had set the standard for heritage building preservation in Lower Hutt.