South Invercargill community building will have safe space for youth

By Evan Harding Stuff / Southland Times Nov 22 2022

A new multi-purpose community building in south Invercargill will include a safe space for the area’s youth which is currently lacking, the project leader says.

The Invercargill Community Connections Charitable Trust (IC2) officially launched The Grace Street Project on Tuesday morning after securing ownership of the former Grace Street Chapel.

Nearly $1.5 million of the $4.2m needed has so far been raised for the project, which includes renovating, rebuilding and modernising the former chapel to create a multi-purpose facility for the south Invercargill community to use.

The need for a multi-use building in the area has been identified in the past.

IC2 chair Janette Malcolm said the purchase of the building had given the project a huge injection of excitement.

“So many people have expressed how much [south Invercargill] needs a space like this.”

The creation of the space would complement current community initiatives The Pantry and South Alive, both located just metres away.

“It’s a building for everyone and it will have lots of different spaces,” Malcolm said.

“It’s intended to have a dedicated youth lounge with its own entrance and own facilities ... and they would have the ability to book spaces in the building as and when needed, it might be gaming, dance, jamming music,” she said.

“Trying to cater for everybody, but certainly recognising youth do need a safe place to go in south Invercargill and that place doesn’t exist now, according to the police.”

The building could also be used for children’s play groups during the day, she said.

The building would also include a community lounge, space for large-scale meetings, workshops, exercise classes, exhibitions, internationally-streamed gaming stations, offices and co-working spaces, markets and other events needing indoor shelter.

A range of programmes, courses and activities in the building would add to the work already being done to grow South Invercargill’s opportunities.

Thelma Buck, a south Invercargill resident of more than 70 years and long-time advocate for its people, said she supported the initiative if it benefitted the children and youth of the area and if ratepayers were not asked to prop it up once it was operating.

The project needed to be self-supporting because ratepayers already paid enough, she said.

Malcolm said some of the space would be used for offices which would be a regular source of income.

And the Southern Institute of Technology [SIT] had established a founding partnership with The Grace Street Project. The SIT was a funder and would lease a space within the building for five years, with an option for a further five years, which would provide further funding.

SIT chief executive Daryl Haggerty said the facility would be welcoming of the full community and SIT would have classes running which would provide a pathway into programmes at SIT campus.

The Invercargill Licensing Trust was the biggest funder of the project, with president Paddy O’Brien saying the building would provide a safe and accessible place for the wider community to engage with each other.

The licensing trust supported activities that had a positive impact on the community, “particularly youth”, and the trust would continue to support the project into the future, he said.

Malcolm said capital funding committed to the project so far included $320,000 from the Invercargill Licensing Trust, $250,000 from the SIT, $200,000 from Aotearoa Gaming Trust, $100,000 from Invercargill City Council and $75,000 from Community Trust South.

Confidential and private trusts had also contributed a further $540,000, alongside community sponsors and Government agencies.

The focus would now be on raising the rest of the money required for the renovation, while also continuing discussions with the community about the detailed design of the project.

Invercargill Community Connections Charitable Trust (IC2) chairwoman Janette Malcolm outside the former Grace Street Chapel building that will be turned into a community space for south Invercargill residents. The image she holds is what the finished product will look like.

From left, Southern Institute of Technology acting chief executive Daryl Haggerty, Invercargill Community Connections Charitable Trust (IC2) chairwoman Janette Malcolm and Invercargill Licensing Trust president Paddy O’Brien inside the former Grace Street Chapel building that will be turned into a community space for south Invercargill residents.