My Account
One of Warkworth’s oldest churches and most prominent landmarks is on the market after nearly 150 years.
Mahurangi Presbyterian Church was built in 1876 at the top of Bertram Street, where it now occupies a 3000 square metre site across two titles that also border Pulham Road and Church Hill.
The historic church, with its distinctive red roof and spire, together with the Wilson Memorial Hall, Church House, a commercial kitchen and a range of sheds and outbuildings, is being sold as the church and its community trust have outgrown the old site and are moving to a brand new building in September. The massive new Mahurangi Hope Centre is next to the Mahurangi River on land between Woodcocks Road and Mansel Drive, behind the Warehouse and Noel Leeming stores.
The 3000 square metre church and community centre will include a 450-seat auditorium, a full-size international basketball court, a large function centre, a café, commercial kitchen, chapel, foodbank facility and playground downstairs, as well as a conference centre and numerous offices and workspaces upstairs.
Senior pastor Nick McLennan says the church and Mahu Vision Community Trust have many community-facing ministries that need extra space, including the Warkworth Foodbank, youth programmes, social workers and a support service for migrant families.
“We have so many activities in the church during the week now – we have 15 or 16 people working for us at the moment – so having space to fit everything in will be great,” he said. “We can let out whatever we want, or whatever we don’t need.”
And while he admitted it might be a bit of a wrench for some of the 250-strong congregation to leave the old church and see it sold, after long years of planning and building Mahurangi Hope, the time seemed right to move on.
“There’s a real sense of everybody being ready to get going now,” he said.
McLennan said it would be nice to see the church site bought and used for continued community use, such as an art gallery or function space, but there was no way of knowing what might happen when it went to auction on August 10.
Selling agent Bayleys Warkworth said it was a high-profile site that offered a diverse range of opportunities to prospective purchasers, from continued use as a church or community facility to housing development, which could see the loss of the historic church itself.
“The property includes a Category B Heritage Overlay, allowing discretionary removal or alteration of the church improvements,” Bayleys said.
Until last year, the church site was zoned single house residential, but under the new medium density residential standards, up to three houses of up to three storeys could be permitted per title.
The Presbyterian church site, formally listed as 1 and 5 Pulham Road, will go to auction at Bayleys’ offices in Queen Street at 10am on Thursday, August 10, unless sold prior.
