I just noticed that there has been a development application lodged nearby with my local council. It is for a change of use for a property from “residential” to “place of worship”.

Currently the property has a modest 2-storey brick house on it. The property is relatively large and is ideal for a carpark, hence it will be turned into mostly carparking space. The house will remain as the “place of worship”. The application states that:

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

An accompanying table indicates that maximum attendees would be 50 at each session. The place would be unnocupied the rest of the time.

Now the thing is that this block is located in an ideal development strip, as there is a new train station being built directly across the road from it. You may have seen in the media recently that there are groups of neighbours (within a couple of hundred metres from this block) hoping to sell their blocks for $3-4 million each. This “place of worship” block is better than any of those.

So how can this work? Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

Speedy said:

I just noticed that there has been a development application lodged nearby with my local council. It is for a change of use for a property from “residential” to “place of worship”.

Currently the property has a modest 2-storey brick house on it. The property is relatively large and is ideal for a carpark, hence it will be turned into mostly carparking space. The house will remain as the “place of worship”. The application states that:

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

An accompanying table indicates that maximum attendees would be 50 at each session. The place would be unnocupied the rest of the time.

Now the thing is that this block is located in an ideal development strip, as there is a new train station being built directly across the road from it. You may have seen in the media recently that there are groups of neighbours (within a couple of hundred metres from this block) hoping to sell their blocks for $3-4 million each. This “place of worship” block is better than any of those.

So how can this work? Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

Tax concessions ?
The worship times are very small, perhaps they live in it as well

Speedy said:

I just noticed that there has been a development application lodged nearby with my local council. It is for a change of use for a property from “residential” to “place of worship”.

Currently the property has a modest 2-storey brick house on it. The property is relatively large and is ideal for a carpark, hence it will be turned into mostly carparking space. The house will remain as the “place of worship”. The application states that:

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

An accompanying table indicates that maximum attendees would be 50 at each session. The place would be unnocupied the rest of the time.

Now the thing is that this block is located in an ideal development strip, as there is a new train station being built directly across the road from it. You may have seen in the media recently that there are groups of neighbours (within a couple of hundred metres from this block) hoping to sell their blocks for $3-4 million each. This “place of worship” block is better than any of those.

So how can this work? Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

maybe they need somewhere to worship

Speedy said:

Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

Human motivation is often complex and obscure. Maybe you should ask them?

Cymek said:

Tax concessions ?
The worship times are very small, perhaps they live in it as well

I don’t think they’d be allowed to live in it once it is rezoned. There was mention of it being unoccupied the rest of the time and that the site could attract “antisocial activity”.

Cymek said:

Tax concessions ?
The worship times are very small, perhaps they live in it as well

I don’t think they’d be allowed to live in it once it is rezoned. There was mention of it being unoccupied the rest of the time and that the site could attract “antisocial activity”.

diddly-squat said:

maybe they need somewhere to worship

I’m sure they did. Why not go down the road a little to where their opportunity cost is not even half of what it would be here?

Speedy said:

diddly-squat said:

maybe they need somewhere to worship

I’m sure they did. Why not go down the road a little to where their opportunity cost is not even half of what it would be here?

presumably because they already own the current site

Speedy said:

So how can this work? Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

Presumably they think that worthwhile activities are far more important than generating huge sums of money, providing you have sufficient to live a reasonably comfortable life.

An opinion that I would totally agree with, without agreeing with their choice of “worthwhile activity”.

diddly-squat said:

Speedy said:

diddly-squat said:

maybe they need somewhere to worship

I’m sure they did. Why not go down the road a little to where their opportunity cost is not even half of what it would be here?

presumably because they already own the current site

Even better for them to move away then, before they spend money on it. They would have made a motza on the place in a very short period of time already. Opportunities like this are rare.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Speedy said:

So how can this work? Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

Presumably they think that worthwhile activities are far more important than generating huge sums of money, providing you have sufficient to live a reasonably comfortable life.

An opinion that I would totally agree with, without agreeing with their choice of “worthwhile activity”.

Selfless acts then?

Perhaps making the profit and donating it to a worthwhile cause would be more beneficial. The worthwhile activity can still be undertaken just down the road.

Maybe they plan to do a lot of proselytising in the railway station across the road.

Bubblecar said:

Maybe they plan to do a lot of proselytising in the railway station across the road.

LOL. Yes, maybe you’re getting close, but at 6am on Sunday morning I think they’d get a punch in the nose :)

Perhaps in the future all manner of activities will take place there like a community hall

diddly-squat said:

Speedy said:

I just noticed that there has been a development application lodged nearby with my local council. It is for a change of use for a property from “residential” to “place of worship”.

Currently the property has a modest 2-storey brick house on it. The property is relatively large and is ideal for a carpark, hence it will be turned into mostly carparking space. The house will remain as the “place of worship”. The application states that:

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

An accompanying table indicates that maximum attendees would be 50 at each session. The place would be unnocupied the rest of the time.

Now the thing is that this block is located in an ideal development strip, as there is a new train station being built directly across the road from it. You may have seen in the media recently that there are groups of neighbours (within a couple of hundred metres from this block) hoping to sell their blocks for $3-4 million each. This “place of worship” block is better than any of those.

So how can this work? Why would the owner of this block be doing this?

maybe they need somewhere to worship

That’s not the answer we’re looking for.

Speedy said:

Bubblecar said:

Maybe they plan to do a lot of proselytising in the railway station across the road.

LOL. Yes, maybe you’re getting close, but at 6am on Sunday morning I think they’d get a punch in the nose :)

also straight across the road from a train station means it’s easy to get to and from

Place of Worship and tax free status?

Do those Hare Krishna people still play music around Melbourne?

PermeateFree said:

Place of Worship and tax free status?

I just did a little online sleuthing and found that the “Trust” is registered as a charity. It is also registered to a residential address a few suburbs away.

They are income tax exempt.

Speedy said:

PermeateFree said:

Place of Worship and tax free status?

I just did a little online sleuthing and found that the “Trust” is registered as a charity. It is also registered to a residential address a few suburbs away.

They are income tax exempt.

Then possibly Rate Free status. Increased property values attract higher Council Rates.

I found that they bought the place last year for only $875,000.

Speedy said:

I found that they bought the place last year for only $875,000.

what sort of worship?

CrazyNeutrino said:

Speedy said:

I found that they bought the place last year for only $875,000.

what sort of worship?

I don’t know, but from the name of the trust, it sounds like a gospel group.

Go undercover and check it out

When it opens knock on the door and ask “Can you tell me about the lord”

Cymek said:

Go undercover and check it out

When it opens knock on the door and ask “Can you tell me about the lord”

How could I tell if they’re telling the truth? :)

The times of worship are very strange and very suspect.

PermeateFree said:

The times of worship are very strange and very suspect.

Worship on Sunday morning, that’s strange alright.

Neophyte said:

PermeateFree said:

The times of worship are very strange and very suspect.

Worship on Sunday morning, that’s strange alright.

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

Yes I do think those times are strange.

Anyway, it sounds like an investment property made by some people in the know. If you want to discover more I suggest you find out who the beneficiaries of the Trust are.

PermeateFree said:

Neophyte said:

PermeateFree said:

The times of worship are very strange and very suspect.

Worship on Sunday morning, that’s strange alright.

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

Yes I do think those times are strange.

It’s pretty simple, on Sunday they have the service where they bless and eat lentils and pray to Gaia.
On Monday evenings they have confession between 6:30 and 7:30, here they confess their sins like leaving lights on or having bad thoughts about voting Conservative and the like.
For serious mortal sins like buying a SUV they have to say three Tim Flanneries and six Al Gores, I believe.

Peak Warming Man said:

PermeateFree said:

Neophyte said:

Worship on Sunday morning, that’s strange alright.

The Meeting Room will be used as a place of worship on Sundays between 6.00am and 7.00am and on Mondays between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

Yes I do think those times are strange.

It’s pretty simple, on Sunday they have the service where they bless and eat lentils and pray to Gaia.
On Monday evenings they have confession between 6:30 and 7:30, here they confess their sins like leaving lights on or having bad thoughts about voting Conservative and the like.
For serious mortal sins like buying a SUV they have to say three Tim Flanneries and six Al Gores, I believe.

No need to worry about them then, as they mean no harm and only wish to save the world from the greed and self-interest of others.

are trying to bring down property prices by setting up there

once they’ve done that they buy into the area

are trying to bring down property prices by setting up there

once they’ve done that they buy into the area

religion is tax exempt

as are unions

when they buy these buildings they don’t pay a cent in tax

// the site could attract “antisocial activity”.

exactly