A grassroots campaign is gathering momentum to keep Motueka's Chanel Arts Centre in community hands, with supporters hoping to broaden its role as a hub for arts, events and local activities.
The iconic stone church on the corner of High and Fearon streets was listed for sale in early June. Members of the community are now working to form a trust and hope to purchase the property collectively.
The building was bought by the Goodman family in the mid-1980s after the Catholic Church outgrew the space. The family made it available to community groups, most recently the Motueka Music Group, which has acted as its caretaker since 1992.
With descendants of the Goodman family looking to divest some local holdings, the 890m² residentially zoned property is now on the market. It has a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 classification, meaning the exterior cannot be altered, although changes can be made to the interior, fencing and grounds. It is priced by negotiation and has a rateable value of $510,000.
Bayleys listing agent Graeme Vining says the Goodman estate "want to do good" by the community and will consider a buyer's intended use before completing a sale.
He says there have already been local and international offers for the property and that interested parties are being asked to wait while the community assesses its options.
Graeme confirms the property will not necessarily go to the highest offer.
The idea of a collective purchase has local precedent. This month marks 10 years since New Zealanders raised $2.2 million through crowdfunding to return Awaroa Inlet to public ownership.
Motueka Music Group publicist Cathie Johnson says the building, believed to be the first Tākaka marble structure ever built, is part of Motueka's shared history and heritage.
"This is saving a piece of Motueka," Cathie says. "It creates a sort of anchor in a town like this, an anchoring of identity, and once sold, we'll never get it back."
The fledgling committee met on Monday to discuss the generosity of the Goodman family, which made quiet but hugely significant contributions to many major local projects.
"The greatest way to honour the Goodman family's legacy would be to see the Chanel Arts Centre continue serving the community they supported for so many years," Our Town Motueka coordinator Claire Hutt says.
The business promotion group has thrown its support behind the campaign and hopes the wider community will do the same.
Claire says Our Town Motueka had "no hesitation at all" in backing the project.
"There's not going to be anything left for our young ones," she says.
She envisages the building being governed by a trust and used for concerts, celebrations and weddings.
Motueka Arts Council president Julienne Dickey agrees the initiative goes beyond preserving a heritage building. She says the town urgently needs performance spaces where local talent can be nurtured and showcased, while also attracting events from outside the district.
Motueka stalwart John Wilson says he had driven past the building thousands of times without ever stepping inside. But after hearing it was for sale, the Wilsons Abel Tasman founder decided to take a closer look.
A former master carpenter, John says the building is beautiful, appears structurally sound with its double-wall marble construction, and is "totally unique".
He has pledged $25,000 towards the campaign and believes that if others contribute what they can, whether large or small amounts, the building can remain a community asset.
"It's a one-way ticket really - either we do something now, or it's too late."
The committee is inviting anyone interested in the project to attend a public meeting at the Chanel Arts Centre on Monday, 27 July, at 6pm.
