Partnership between The Uniting Church, Charter Hall and Lend Lease.
Restoration of historic buildings
Historically important for Melbourne, the Wesley Church buildings are a gift from faithful forebears who had a grand vision. But buildings need care. For decades Wesley Congregation and Mission faced a difficult, expensive task in maintaining all its buildings and keeping them functional. Bluestone is hard but porous, sandstone erodes, gutters perish and slates break away.
From left: Renewed stone feature on small south spire; Aerial view of church roof under repair; South Tower rosette.
A conservation management plan
Heritage buildings are under strict protection by Heritage Victoria, which oversees restoration under a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) commissioned in 2000, and updated for the recent work. This will also guide on-going maintenance for the next century.
With a new roof of slate from the original quarry in Wales and replacement decorative sandstone sourced from Germany, the Church is now better prepared for another century of Melbourne’s weather. The original
ornamentations were in soft local stone which needed restoration after only 60 years. A Sinking Fund has been established that supports maintenance of these buildings.
A challenge for developers
There were multiple challenges for the developers (originally Leightons, the project transferred to Charter Hall’s management in 2017). These included: aligning values with the Church, managing a “live site” where two congregations needed to meet regularly, and answering to multiple stakeholders (the Church, State Government, City of Melbourne and Heritage Victoria). Added to this was the complexity of the church’s multiple titles and heritage listing. All these factors made it an interesting and constantly evolving redevelopment.
Scaffolding over the church stage.
Staff of the Synod of Vic.Tas and the Uniting Church Agencies are now accommodated in high quality offices where they can work more effectively and in collaboration.
In the centre of the Wesley Place Precinct is the splendidly restored church. Wesley Church is delighted to continue the legacy of many generations with a centre of life and hope, of beauty and sanctuary in the lovely
city of Melbourne.
