West Ryde place of worship listed after 65 years
If you’re seeking a property with rare place-of-worship zoning already in place, then this West Ryde building may be for you.
Occupying a prominent corner position at 7 Macpherson Street, the property is being offered to the market for the first time in 65 years after the vendor decided to consolidate its religious operations elsewhere.
Ray White Commercial Western Sydney managing director Peter Vines says the listing is likely to attract interest from a spectrum of Christian groups.
“Getting a place of worship approved, particularly these days with traffic constraints and parking, is incredibly difficult, and this is a very built-up part of Sydney, which only adds to the difficulty,” Vines says.
For a religious group hoping to establish a base in West Ryde, the opportunity also lets it sidestep competition with developers for a land parcel, Vines notes.
“Because the property is zoned specifically for worship, you won’t be competing with developers who might want to come in and build a tower or a duplex or whatever it might be,” he says.
The existing building comprises a hall seating up to 50, an auditorium, bathrooms and a fully functional kitchen. It sits on a 1758-square-metre parcel, moments from Victoria Road and 500 metres from Meadowbank train station.
The site’s size leaves scope to expand the existing facility, and the zoning allows a religious group to commence operating from day one. Alternate uses are also possible, subject to council approval.
The vendor is Temple Society Australia, an offshoot of the Temple Society, a Christian group that traces its roots to 1860s Germany.
Many of its founding members, known as Templers, moved to Palestine in the late 1860s to establish settlements in the Holy Land. Following WWII, members of these communities were displaced and resettled in other countries, including Australia.
In recent years, the society has leased the West Ryde site to another Christian group. “The Temple Society’s major facility is in Melbourne, so the plan is to sell this asset and put the money into its facilities and outreach programs down there,” Vines says.
“The heritage nature of this property is quite special,” he continues. “It has a real story, a real history. The next owners get to step in and become custodians of that history.”
Ray White Commercial is accepting expressions of interest above $3 million until November 25. In light of recent demographic changes in the West Ryde area, Vines believes the sale is timely.
“It’s an area where some religions are growing and some are in decline,” he says.
“There’s a strong Korean presence which is very much in expansion mode from a religious perspective, and is gradually replacing some of the older, more established Christian and religious populations in the vicinity.”
