St James Church and its neighbouring hall in Orakei have been put on the market. Tenders close on June 12. Photo / Bayleys Real Estate
St James Church and its neighbouring hall in Orakei have been put on the market. Tenders close on June 12. Photo / Bayleys Real Estate
A central Auckland church and neighbouring hall have gone on sale with tenders closing next week.
The St James Church on Kepa Rd, Orakei, which is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland, was built in 1957. It was deconsecrated last year.
Together with the hall, the property comprises 545.5sqm of buildings sitting on 1625sq m of freehold land zoned Business-Mixed Use under the Auckland Council Plan.
The mixed use zoning allows for developments, subject to consents, up to four storeys or 18m high.
Bayleys Auckland salespeople Mike Adams and Jean-Paul Smit said the freehold property was being sold as vacant possession.
The St James Church freehold land and two buildings encompass:
• 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 comprises two offices and two bathrooms.
The inside of the church features brick-lined walls and bright carpet. Photo / Supplied
• The adjacent 210.8sq m church hall relocated on to 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.
Neither of the former church buildings were heritage listed, Smit said.
"With some 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 is certainly possible that the site could sustain an integrated premises with shops at street level and apartments above."
Adams said the property offered a plethora of owner occupier or development opportunities – ranging from utilising the buildings in their current formats or reconfiguring them to suit the needs of specific tenants, through to replacing them with a new low-rise block potentially containing shops and apartments.
"The property could also be reinstated as a place of worship for religious groups looking for an inner-east Auckland headquarters and proves a very opportunity for such activities. The tarsealed car park at the front of the property has parking for approximately 15 vehicles."
The spacious hall in the adjacent building. Photo / Supplied
The St James Church property is located close to a pocket of commercial premises serving the neighbouring residential community – with businesses and entities such as a Z petrol station, the Orakei Community Centre, Orakei RSA, and a block of shops with takeaways, bakery and liquor tenancies.
Two residential apartment complexes are currently under construction immediately to the southern side of the St James Church property – the 42-dwelling apartment complex known as Outlook Mission Bay, and the 41-residence location known as 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'. And the land at 152 Kepa Rd could certainly see that trend continue."
