The symbolic ‘first sod’ will be turned at a special ground-breaking ceremony in Burgess Park on Wednesday to mark the start of the construction phase of the Whakatāne Museum and Research Centre’s redevelopment.

That follows the acceptance of the lowest tender for the physical works for this key Arts and Culture project, at a cost of $4.32 million. The successful tenderer, Watts and Hughes Construction, will set up on the site early next month, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of July 2018.

The redevelopment involves the retention and refurbishment of the existing museum building in Boon Street and extension south into Burgess Park. New features include:

• Enlarged collection storage areas with the environmental control systems required to adequately protect the Museum’s valuable collections
• A dedicated, multi-functional room for delivering outreach and education programmes
• Secure collection viewing areas for families and researchers
• A community research centre providing enhanced access to Museum resources

Reporting to the Whakatāne District Council earlier this month, project manager Paula Chapman said the tender price was higher than the $4.145 million estimated in June 2016, but included a mezzanine extension to the first floor storage area which had not been part of the original design scope.

The Council noted that the lowest tender was approximately $150,000 over budget, taking the total expected cost for the project to $5.2 million. To date, funding of $4.35 million has been secured for the redevelopment, including:

• Funds set aside in the Council’s Long Term Plan
• A $1.5 million contribution from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage
• $400,000 from the Lotteries World War 1 Environment and Heritage Fund
• $103,000 from the Eastern Bay Energy Trust
• $45,000 from the Grassroots Trust
• $10,000 from the former Whakatāne Community Board 

Fundraising and community engagement campaigns designed to close the funding gap are underway.

Project Governance Group chairman John Pullar says the turning of the first sod at 10 am on Wednesday, 28 June will launch a much-needed initiative to bring the Museum’s collection facilities up to an acceptable standard.

“We hold collections of national importance, and this redevelopment will not only ensure that they can be preserved for the benefit of future generations, but will provide additional storage capacity and make the facility much more accessible to the community,” he says. “We’re working with a range of community funding agencies and other stakeholders, and I’m confident we can raise the additional funding required to deliver this hugely important heritage project.”

Wednesday’s ceremony will involve a blessing by Ngāti Awa kaumatua and will be attended by supporters of the museum, amongst them descendants of the Burgess family. The ground-breaking coincides with the fifth anniversary of the opening of Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – the Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre – the first stage of the District’s major Arts and Cultural development programme.