“We try to make it a home away from home when they come in,” said Quinn, a volunteer for 45 years.

Being refused heritage protection was disheartening for the organisation, Quinn said, and he was concerned for the future of its home. “The whole centre was very disappointed.”

In the Catholic Trust’s submission to the planning panel, prepared by heritage consultant Bryce Raworth, it argued that the centre was “not widely known in Melbourne or considered iconic”, and it was only relevant for a small number of people.

The church submitted that Stella Maris had moved three times in about 90 years and that protection was unnecessary with the Mission to Seamen building on Flinders Street already heritage listed. “We don’t need every example to complete the showbag.”

Two heritage experts providing evidence for the council pushed for the building’s protection, saying that the community’s small size should not exclude it from having social significance and the structure’s unique design drove curiosity in passersby.

The panel concluded the site’s significance hadn’t been adequately established and recommended abandoning its inclusion in the heritage review.

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A spokesperson for the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne did not comment on plans for the site but said they supported Stella Maris’ continuation and strengthening into the future. They said the panel’s decision was based on the building itself, not the organisation’s significance.

“Stella Maris enjoys the support and confidence of Archbishop [Peter] Comensoli, who has reinforced his gratitude for this ministry through his own visitations,” they said.

City of Melbourne councillor Rohan Leppert said the proposal to protect the Stella Maris building had been controversial, but he supported the end result.

Stella Maris committee member Paul Kucera was surprised by the Catholic Church’s position, given it understands Stella Maris’ work and the two groups generally have a good relationship.

“The community we benefit and provide welfare for is unseen. It comes and goes in the middle of the night,” Kucera said.

“They visit our shores, bring our goods to the country, they’re foreigners, but they see Stella Maris as their place of safety and trust.”

He hoped the building – which recently hosted film crews for an upcoming Robbie Williams biopic – would be reconsidered for heritage overlay protection to keep it part of the CBD’s landscape.

“How many buildings around Melbourne exist from the late ’60s, early ’70s with peculiar designs like that?”

With the site now wide open to redevelopment, Kucera said his “greatest fear is that we’d be cut out altogether”.

With Cara Waters

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