Vacant Orakei church property
St James’ church site could be resurrected as retail-residential complex, says Colin Taylor
Land and buildings encompassing St James mid-20th century church and hall in the Auckland suburb of Orakei have been placed on the market.
The church, built in 1957, and the neighbouring hall comprises 545.5sq m of buildings occupying a 1625sq m block of freehold, predominantly rectangular, land. A tar-sealed car park at the front of the property has parking for 15 vehicles.
“The property is being sold with vacant possession,” says Mike Adams of Bayleys Auckland who, with colleague Jean-Paul Smit, is marketing
152 Kepa Rd for sale by tenders closing at 4pm on Wednesday June 12.
Adams says a Business-Mixed Use zoning under the Auckland Council Plan allows for developments which “soften the demarcation line” between purely commercial zones and residential areas.
“Subject to consents, buildings up to four storeys high could be constructed to a maximum height of
18 metres,” he says.
The property, featured in Bayleys’ latest Total Property portfolio publication
encompasses:
● a 334.7sq m brick-walled church built on concrete piles with timber framing supporting an A-frame ceiling and roof up to 9.7m high. The rear portion of the church has two offices and two bathrooms; and
● the adjacent 210.8sq m church hall relocated onto the property and used for scores of events ranging from Sunday school and Bible studies through to community group meetings and events.
The hall has a kitchen and two toilets.
Adams said the property offers a number of owner-occupier or development opportunities, including, using the buildings in their present formats; reconfiguring them to suit the needs of specific tenants; and replacing them with a new, low-rise, retail-residential development having ground floor shops and apartments above.
“The church could also be reinsta ted as a place of worship for religious groups looking for an inner East Auckland presence,” Adams says.
The St James Church property is close to a pocket of commercial premises serving the neighbouring residential community and including a Z petrol station, Orakei Community Centre, Orakei RSA, and a block of shops with take-aways, bakery and liquor tenancies.
Smit said neither of the former church buildings are heritage-listed.
“With 27 metres of street frontage on to Kepa Rd, and 33.5 metres of rear boundary adjoining Kupe Reserve and the Orakei Tennis Club, it’s certainly possible the site could be occupied by an integrated building with shops at street level and residences above.”
Two big apartment complexes are under construction immediately to the southern side of the St James Church property — the 42-dwelling Outlook Mission Bay and the 41-residence Horizon Mission Bay.
“Land use intensification along the Kepa Rd corridor has been a direct reflection of the theme outlined in the Auckland Unitary Plan — calling for residential developments in the city to go ‘up’ rather than ‘out’,” Smit says.
“The land use at 152 Kepa Rd could certainly see that trend continue.”