Taste Nature owner Clinton Chambers had leased the Holy Cross seminary and applied to the Dunedin City Council for a heritage grant to make repairs and also nominated the buildings for heritage protection.
He made the move earlier this year as part of a broader plan by Taste Nature Social Enterprise to transform the buildings into a holistic health and sustainability centre and community hub.
However, last month the church said no to his plan, so he moved out of the building.
A Dunedin City Council spokesperson said a heritage assessment for the seminary had been completed and the building was proposed for inclusion on its heritage schedule, which would be announced next week under a district plan change.
Mr Chambers welcomed the anticipated protection as a "very worthwhile step in the right direction" for a building with "significant heritage value".
Mr Chambers said that some time after he had nominated the building for protection, the church had told him it was considering knocking it down.
"I said what are you going to do with the property? They said that there were a number of options and one of them was demolition."
He had not told the church about seeking the protection.
The seminary includes a commercial kitchen, a dining room, a large chapel, a lecture theatre and accommodation for 100 people.
The Catholic diocese’s Dunedin operations manager Paul Olsen said the church had not nominated the building for protection and was not aware who had nominated it.
He said that part of the building known as the Burns Block was a "recognised historic building worthy of heritage protection" and there were no plans to demolish that part.
The council spokesperson said a decision on the heritage grant to repair the building had been deferred until after the building got heritage status. The council was "not aware" of any change in Mr Chambers’ status as a leaseholder but any applicant for funding needed to be the owner or occupier.
At least one other charity, the Taieri Network, had been based in the building while Mr Chambers was there. It had been working alongside Mr Chambers’ charity with complementary charitable goals, but also left the building when he did.
Taieri Network chairwoman Kristy Compton said it was "sad - we moved in with the intention that [Clinton’s charitable plans] would be great".
Ms Compton said the charity’s main funder was the DCC and the council was helping them look for an alternate base.
Labour MP Ingrid Leary said it was "important that heritage buildings have protection because once they have gone you can’t turn the clock back. It would be good to see the building being utilised in a way that enhances the community".
