The Catholic Parish of Whanganui and Palmerston North diocese have been carrying out consultation on a proposal to use 1.7ha of Church land for a $40-$50 million social and community housing project.
According to documents on the Catholic Parish of Whanganui website, it is proposed to use the site of Holy Family Church in Tawhero St, and an underutilised school field of St Marcellin School, for affordable social and community housing, which would reportedly see an estimated 86 dwellings built.
The development would reportedly be made up of 75 public housing units of two, three and four bedrooms, and 11 market housing units.
The project would see the parish and diocese working with developers Soho Group, in a joint venture company which would enter a long-term lease with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The parish’s contribution to the project would be the land, currently valued at $1.7million, with the parish retaining this capital in the development, being inflation-adjusted over time. The rest of the funding would come from the diocese and Soho Group.
The joint venture would receive market rent for the duration of the lease term, likely to be 25 years, but tenants would only be charged an affordable rent. This would enable the parish to be able to pay its debt within about five years, and to be in a position to maintain assets without external help. The current income of the parish is insufficient to support three churches in Whanganui, a parish meeting on February 17 was told.
“To ensure that the parish has a viable future, the biggest and central church in the town, St Mary’s, will need significant regular income for major maintenance in the future, which has presently been deferred,” the meeting was told. The city now has three Mass centres, which are five to ten minutes apart, and congregations have become more mobile.
Another factor is that the parish has received considerable support from the Diocesan Needy Parish Fund for many years. This fund will likely not be available in the future due to diocesan deficits, the meeting was informed.
The development requires the removal of Holy Family church for the use of housing and roading access. All removable items from Holy Family church would be used in other parts of the Whanganui parish, and the parish would keep Holy Family presbytery for the use of the parish priest, as it is the only presbytery owned by the parish.
In response to questions put at the February 17 meeting, assurances were given about adequate green space still being available for students at St Marcellin School, given current numbers. Assurances were also given about the relocation of a deceased person’s ashes buried at Holy Family church, at no expense to families involved.
The project would also provide a social good in helping to address homelessness and the housing shortage.
Parish priest Fr Vaughan Leslie told NZ Catholic that the development “is an amazing opportunity for the parish and diocese, especially as it will enable us, not only to plan for the future, but also help benefit those in our community who are unable to access affordable and healthy rental accommodation”.
“Reaction has been mixed,” Fr Leslie said, “but largely supportive, however, change is never easy, and we need to be sensitive to this while also being realistic about being sustainable.
Fr Leslie noted that, in late March, it was planned that the parish finance committee would hold a listening session, along with diocesan representatives, for people who have made submissions regarding the proposal.
If the proposal gets approval at parish finance committee, diocesan and episcopal/apostolic administrator levels, work on the development could start in early 2023. Submissions were invited from parishioners to the finance committee last month.
The joint venture company would also need the approval of the Holy See.
Why is the parish entering into a commercial partnership with a property developer? How did this arrangement originate? Do the people of the parish support it?
The Holy See has recent experience with London property development ventures going sour.
Should the parish really be embarking on this commercial enterprise, directed – in part – at lining the pockets of at least one of the joint venture parties.