The Presbyterian Church on Queen St East in Parkvale, Hastings, is to be demolished to make way for a social housing project.
The Presbyterian Church on Queen St East in Parkvale, Hastings, is to be demolished to make way for a social housing project.
* This story was updated after Kāinga Ora confirmed that its redevelopment of the site, other than the demolition of the church, was on pause, pending further direction from the Government.
A dormant city church is being torn down by Kāinga Ora, and its “gorgeous” stained glass windows could beyours.
Sitting on Queen Street East in the Hastings suburb of Parkvale since 1987, the 1960s Lockwood-styled St Mark’s Presbyterian Church is in its final days as demolition starts to prepare the site for a social housing development.
Since the dissolution of the St Mark’s congregation three years ago, St Andrew’s, Hastings, has been looking after the building facilities and considering what to do with the church, which it says is in poor condition.
The Rev Jill McDonald of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church said she had seen first-hand from working with the community that there was a strong demand for social housing.
After three years of no use, the Presbyterian Church property trustees have sold the old St Mark's church and land to Kāinga Ora.
She said the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees had sold the land to Kāinga Ora and were “keen to see the expansive site used for social housing”.
“The church knows from working with the community that there is a strong demand for social housing, based on government data and anecdotal evidence from our congregation.
“We want to see homes built that work well for the community and for the people and whānau who will call the new houses ‘home’.”
McDonald said the community needs to provide safe and stable homes for those without appropriate places to live.
Demolition has started at the old St Mark's Church to make way for much-needed social housing. Photo / Warren Buckland.
“Too many of our people are spending the cold winter months living in cars, tents, garages, and overcrowded homes,” she said.
The church believed God had a particular love for “struggling people” and “longs for all people’s flourishing”.
“That is why the church wanted to see this unused land repurposed for social housing.”
The demolition of the old church started on Monday.
A Kāinga Ora spokeswoman said there were no set plans or timelines for new buildings, but it would keep the community informed as decisions are made.
“We do not have a timeline for the new builds at the moment. Demolition of the church will proceed, however, we will not be progressing any other work on this project at the moment.
“Until we get further direction from the Government, projects that are not already contracted for delivery, such as the redevelopment of 912 Queens Street East, are paused.”
Kāinga Ora would like to see old churches "gorgeous" stained-glass windows reused by people in the Hawke’s Bay community.
A Kāinga Ora spokeswoman said that during demolition it would aim to recycle parts of the church building, including the stained-glass windows.
“We would really like to see the gorgeous stained-glass windows reused by people in the Hawke’s Bay community,” she said.
If anyone is interested in the stained-glass windows, they can contact Stefan Christie at Central Demolition via his email: stefan@centraldemolition.co.nz
Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz.
