Church rejects 11th-hour bid to save Hamilton’s Euphrasie House

A late bid to save landmark Hamilton East building Euphrasie House has been rejected by the Catholic Church, which bought the building in 2012.

The Hamilton East Community Trust (HECT) is still fighting to keep the pre-World War II Spanish mission-style convent standing, despite the church diocese gaining consent to demolish the 74-year-old building. The diocese says it cannot afford earthquake upgrading that the building needs, and wants to demolish it and instead build a two-storey diocesan centre on the site.

The trust has appealed the consent decision to the Environment Court.

Its proposal to the diocese to save the iconic building, including costings for strengthening, extension and refurbishment, put the likely bill at $4.1m.

Diocese working party member Peter Egan said the proposal wouldn’t work. Read More

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