A Spire Over the City, 38 Social Homes Around It: Nelson’s Trinity Church Goes to Tender

• Trinity Presbyterian Church in Nelson closed to worshippers in 2015
• A developer bought the 4,203-square-metre site in 2020 for just under $1.8 million
• 38 social housing units were built around the heritage church
• The church itself was offered by tender, with heritage rules on any works

One of the best-known churches in Nelson, New Zealand, is looking for a new owner after the land around it was turned into social housing, OneRoof reported in October 2025.

Trinity Presbyterian Church at 66 Nile Street sits on a 4,203-square-metre site and has dominated the town’s skyline for more than a century. It closed to worshippers in 2015 because of rising maintenance costs and falling attendance. Auckland developer Soho Group bought the property in 2020 for just under $1.8 million, after the Presbyterian Church obtained a High Court order removing a restrictive deed dating from 1849.

The developer built 38 social housing units, 14 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom, around the church. “We will have 38 local families who are either homeless or rough-sleeping who will be provided with an affordable, safe, and dry home,” said Larissa Bridge, chief executive of community housing provider Home in Place, which will manage them.

The heritage-listed church was offered by tender, marketed by Bayleys agent Gill Ireland. “Any works that are done have to be done under the guidance of the heritage board to make sure that it’s preserved,” she said. “It’s very special to Nelson. Everybody sees that spire. I see it from my house.” And: “We need somebody to come along and bring her back to life.”

The project split the site’s value in two: the land became homes for people in need, while the heritage building was kept and offered to a buyer willing to restore it. Removing an 1849 deed restriction through the courts was the step that made it possible.

Jamaican church land can carry old trust deeds and conditions. The Nelson case shows that such restrictions can be addressed legally, and that a heritage church and new housing can share one site. Churches should check what their deeds allow before planning any change of use.