Whanganui council invites public to have say on former St George’s School buildings

Demolition of the buildings at Whanganui’s former St George’s School campus will cost about $1.255 million, including deconstruction, asbestos removal and soil remediation. Photo / Mike Tweed

The public will have a say on the future of buildings at Whanganui’s former St George’s School campus.

They are owned by the Whanganui District Council, which secured a demolition consent this year.

At a council meeting this week, chief executive David Langford said the consent was “to test the viability” of options for the site, not to predetermine demolition.

There are five options for the public to consider: do nothing; refurbish the buildings for future council use; demolish them and retain the site for future council use; secure a sale and purchase agreement with a private developer; or lease the site long-term to a private developer.

Langford said the 20,000sq m property cost the council about $49,000 a year.

The buildings at Grey St were bought by Whanganui District Holdings, the council’s financial arm, in 2019 in a joint partnership with Te Ngakinga o Whanganui.

They were meant to house an aviation training hub through the New Zealand International Pilot Academy (NZICPA), then a homeless hub initiative was “aborted”, Langford said.

A retirement village and a petrol station on the corner of the site were potential options in recent years.

Councillor Michael Law says public consultation is not necessary and elected members should "do what we are paid to do". Photo / NZME

“Hotel development has been suggested, as well as student accommodation for NZICPA.

“Based on three-bedroom properties using Kāinga Ora-style social housing designs, you could fit up to 150 units on the site.”

The council’s preferred option was to seek a long-term lease of the site, but elected members voted against having a preferred option during public consultation.

Langford said previous conversations with private developers showed leasing the site would likely mean demolishing the buildings beforehand.

His report to the council said demolition would cost $1.255 million, including deconstruction, asbestos removal and soil remediation.

“The City Endowment Fund has cash reserves of $1.5m,” it said.

“This ringfenced fund could be used to fund the deconstruction and remediation rather than debt funding.”

Langford told councillors there was one live lease inquiry from a community health provider, which wanted to develop a medical centre and community hub.

“My understanding is their timeframes are becoming increasingly tight.

“I believe they are keen to progress their development and have some urgency because they are in temporary accommodation at the moment.”

Councillor Michael Law said he did not agree with going out to consultation because the process would take up a lot of officers’ time and there would be little feedback.

“We just need the information in front of us to do what we are paid to do,” he said.

“Please give me a business case and I’ll make a decision based on that.”

Langford’s report said leasing the property long-term would provide a net financial return of $109,000 a year.

Refurbishing the buildings was estimated to cost $12m.

Demolishing them but keeping them for council use would mean a net annual cost of $180,697, including the loss of revenue from the YMCA, which currently occupied part of the property.

Selling the site was not considered viable because of commitments made by the council to the Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust (WLSNT) in 2018, the report said.

They prevented the council from divesting any property while the land treaty settlement process was under way.

The former school's original buildings were constructed in 1927 and have Class C heritage status. Photo / Mike Tweed

“Council officers have engaged with WLSNT, who have confirmed an interest in 125 Grey St, and that they would not support council divesting the property,” it said.

“However, they are supportive of long-term leasing arrangements.”

Councillor Rob Vinsen asked how much Holdings bought the buildings for in 2019.

The council did not give a figure when asked by the Chronicle last month.

Langford said he could not remember the original price, but when the council bought the property back from Holdings in 2023 it paid about $1.2m, with no impact on ratepayers.

“That was sufficient to completely clear the Holdings’ financing they used to acquire it,” he said.

“It’s got a current book value as an asset, because of the impairments we’ve applied to the buildings due to their condition, of $2.5m.”

His report said the buildings had a seismic new building standard range of 10% to 30%.

The earthquake-prone building threshold under the Building Act is 34%.

“The site is confirmed to contain significant levels of asbestos contamination,” it said.

“Based on the level of risk, the main buildings should only be entered with full personal protective equipment.”

The original school buildings, built in 1927, have Class C heritage status under the Whanganui District Plan.

Whanganui Deputy Mayor Helen Craig said it was a strategic site and the community needed to think about how it could function in the future.

“The existing building, I think, most people would consider to be pretty iconic,” she said.

“If people have real ideas or business opportunities they think could be viable, it would be good to hear about that.”

Public consultation runs from May 27 to June 15.

Part of the consultation process will include car parking options along Parsons St and Carlton Ave.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.