Masonic centre sale imminent

The Southland Masonic Centre is under contract with the sellers hoping confirmation of the sale will happen in the coming weeks.

The Invercargill Masonic Heritage Building Charitable Trust decided last year to put the Southland Masonic Centre up for sale.

For 93 years, the centre on Forth St has been home to various Southland Lodges as part of the Freemasons.

Southland Real Estate agent Graeme Ridder was enlisted to sell the category-one listed building and it was opened up for tender in December. Tenders closed on March 1.

Ridder confirmed an offer had been accepted but it was subject to conditions.

He was unable to confirm who the buyer was and added there was little more information he could provide.

Southland-based Freemasons members were keeping tight-lipped on the prospective buyer.

In January, Ridder said there was ‘‘two or three interested buyers’’.

The Southland Muslim Association confirmed on its website last month that it was interested in buying the building. It held a meeting in late January to discuss the prospect and members planned to organise a meeting with Southland Real Estate and the Invercargill City Council about the potential purchase.

The Southland Muslim Association is based at Fairview Ave in Invercargill.

Southern Divisional Freemasons grand master Rob Angelo was pleased an offer had been accepted.

He was also unable to provide detail on who the buyer was, although he understood the interested party would acquire it for a similar use.

The Freemasons is a non-profit organisation which is involved in supporting charity through financial and community service.

Falling membership, along with the cost of maintaining the building, prompted the sale of the complex.

‘‘It’s sad to see an old friend go, but it’s time to move on,’’ Angelo said.

‘‘The building was built at a time when building regulations and societal needs were a lot different to what they are in 2019.

‘‘The building is big, becoming expensive to maintain and is not necessarily meeting our needs.

‘‘So Freemasonry is looking to the future to ensure the 350 Southland members will be accommodated in a building that is warm, low-maintenance and hopefully allow more funds to be channelled to the region, so that it may support the Invercargill community for many years into the future.

‘‘This is not the first Freemasons’ building to be sold in the South Island, but is a trend to generally improve and modernise our accommodation stock in the Southern Division.’’

The sale should not be viewed as a sign the Freemasonry was dying in Southland, Angelo said

‘‘A Lodge is not a building, but the members are the Lodge,’’ Angelo said.

While the Southland Masonic Lodge was home to Freemasons in Southland, the building was also hired out to the public for functions.

It was also used by a host of community groups for various activities, while 50 car parks are leased to city workers during the week.

The most prominent use for the venue is the popular Southland Farmers Market every Sunday morning.

Just what the potential new ownership would mean to those user groups has yet to be confirmed.

‘‘The building is big, becoming expensive to maintain and is not necessarily meeting our needs.’’ Southern Divisional Freemasons grand master Rob Angelo