- The former Richmond Park School in Hamilton, closed since 2005, has been sold after four offers.
- The 9400sqm site, tainted with asbestos, was valued for its land rather than buildings.
- The Ministry of Education retains part of the land, leasing to Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.
An empty Hamilton school that last opened its door to primary school students more than 20 years ago and is tainted with asbestos has been snapped up after four buyers made offers.
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The former Richmond Park School, in Bader, closed in 2005 after a dwindling student roll. Grounds that included the main classroom block, the library building and a sad-looking swimming pool hit the market for sale at the end of April.
Ministry of Education chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard confirmed to OneRoof that a buyer had been found for the 9400sqm vacant site, but he declined to reveal what they paid or their identity, citing “commercial sensitivity”.
“Decisions about the future use of the site will be a matter for the new owner. We’re not able to comment on their plans at this stage.”
The sale price will not be disclosed until settlement next month, but the Crown had been looking for a buyer with over $1m to spend.
The Ministry of Education subdivided the original school site and has sold off the surplus 9400sqm section. Photo / Supplied
The site was first offered to Waikato Tainui, but it passed.
The property was deemed surplus to education needs three years ago, but it had taken time to complete the subdivision work. OneRoof previously reported that it has cost taxpayers around $80,000 a year, including rates, utilities, security and grounds maintenance.
The Ministry of Education is keeping a 4422sqm slice of the school land as well as some of the buildings, and will continue to lease part of the site to Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust (TKRN) to run a Māori-language immersion early childhood education centre.
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The Department of Conservation also wants to retain an 8079sqm block that served as the school’s playing fields to help safeguard the city’s rare and endangered long‑tailed bat.
Colliers listing agent Alan Pracy told OneRoof last month that the site’s value lay in the land, not the buildings.
A building survey provided to the Ministry for the Environment in 2018 identified asbestos in the buildings and assessed the risk as low to medium.
Negotiations with the Department of Conservation over a section of the school's land earmarked for the long-tailed bat held up the listing. Photo / DoC
“Somebody is more likely to start fresh given the asbestos there and what they are,” Pracy said.
Early interest in the property had been from community groups looking to rebuild on the site followed by developers looking to build affordable housing when the current wastewater restrictions were lifted, he said.
“There’s been a reasonable level of interest for something a little bit unusual,” he said, adding it was the first school he had sold in his 26 years in the industry.
“We don’t see a lot of blocks that size. They tend to be chopped up smaller over the years, so it is pretty unusual.”
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