Bidder hopeful of saving college

The Utah-based businessman leading a bid to take over Hamilton's Church College says he's had encouraging discussions with Mormon church officials as efforts to save the school from demolition gather pace.

But the church's New Zealand spokesman said nothing had changed and the demolition, if approved by Hamilton City Council, would continue after the school closed in December.

In June, Salt Lake City property developer and Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) member Will S Jones told the Waikato Times he and a group of businessmen wanted to buy or lease the Temple View school and keep it open.

Mr Jones said this week he had been involved in surprisingly encouraging talks with Utah church officials. He believed the discussions showed a willingness to explore options to keep the school open.

"We said `we're here, we're formal enough to put [an offer] in writing if we need to – whatever we need to do, we're ready to go'. The guys I've been talking to appear totally open, they were wonderful – completely different to what I was hearing was happening."

Mr Jones declined to name the officials he had been dealing with, but assured the Times one "has been assigned by the very top [leaders] to deal with this".

"I sense there's been a whole change, I felt very encouraged by their willingness to talk about it. Next week we're supposed to talk again."

Mr Jones planned to visit New Zealand late next month to see the campus. He will be joined by Utah church officials and believed discussions would continue while the group were in the country.

He felt the church's preferred option would be a lease arrangement which would see his group take over maintenance of the campus, and keep it open. Discussions on lease specifics were "the next step", Mr Jones said.

"We would love a lease with a 10-year renewal, and I'd prefer that with an option at the end for renewal or purchase. They're saying `we'll consider it'."

The current valuation on the campus is $54 million. Mr Jones and his group would operate it as a private school, outside the auspices of the LDS church.

The church's New Zealand spokesman Anthony Wilson would not be drawn on Mr Jones' talks, and said no formal offer had been received. He said there was hearsay and speculation on the future of the school which he would not comment on.

Robert Cammock, chair of the Temple View Heritage Society which is striving to stop the demolition, said his group took considerable encouragement from Mr Jones' discussions.

Hamilton City Council confirmed the church's demolition application was progressing through the normal process, with a hearing scheduled for January 18.