A panel of Queenstown councillors will consider the future of the former Queenstown Arts Centre building this morning.
Last October, it was revealed the downtown centre, on the corner of Ballarat and Stanley Sts, was to have been demolished by the Queenstown Lakes District Council to make way for a new civic and cultural centre, dubbed Project Manawa.
Until that happened, the council had pegged the land the arts centre building had operated from for the past 20 years for either a temporary car park or a laydown construction area, similar to what the former Ballarat St car park was being used for.
The building, part of the resort’s original high school, dated back about 100 years.
Following a public outcry, the council, in March, made it clear its preference was for the building to be removed and reused, not demolished, but sought public submissions on whether to remove it from its strategic assets register.
That must happen before the building could be relocated.
Of the 93 submissions received, the vast majority were in favour of removing the building from the register and relocating it to Frankton’s Country Lane precinct.
Submitter Brian Marquand said the council had spent large sums of money on the building, including erecting a new roof and seismic strengthening, and it had historical significance.
"With the current escalation in building costs, this building has many years left in her, and there is a great need for a building like this to be available for creative arts, and especially as the population of the district continually increases so rapidly.
"It would be an absolute shame to see the building be taken out of the region like the recent school teacher’s house.
"By avoiding demolition, and relocating it, there is a very good cost-effective means of maintaining a very useful and valuable resource for the community, without huge financial outlay to ratepayers."
The hearing begins at 10am today before councillors Penny Clark, Craig Ferguson, Niki Gladding and Glyn Lewers.
Their recommendation will go to the full council for a final decision.
