$2m needed for museum and centre

Costs for Gore’s new moonshine museum and Maruawai Centre have soared by nearly 40%, and just under $2 million needs to be raised to complete the project.

The pre-election report to the Gore District Council says project cost increases for the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and Maruawai Centre redevelopment were close to 40%, and it was now expected to cost $4.9m.

The report says the two-stage project’s initial budgets of $1.4m (the Moonshine Museum) and $1.8m (the Maruawai Centre) became obsolete in the shadow of protracted community lockdowns and significant escalations in the cost of building services, materials and processes to address potential earthquake, fire rating and snow loading issues with the host buildings.

Arts and Heritage Curator Jim Geddes said much of the 40% increase for stage one had been addressed by additional grants, fundraising, gifts-in-kind, and staff members undertaking aspects of the display work themselves.

At this point there is about 10% of the new project cost ($1,997,403 – up from $1,479,000) still to raise, he said.

The museum’s moonshine distillery opened in November 2021.

‘‘The moonshine museum’s off-licence is operational, and the function and distillery areas are hosting visitors, tours, gatherings and concerts,’’ Geddes said

‘‘The museum is awaiting imported electrical components for both the distillery and catering areas, so there has been limited on-site production.’’

Stage two costs have risen from $1,838,000 to $3,013,338 (these are Quantity Surveyor estimates from 2019 and 2022).

The tendering process in August will reveal the actual cost, Geddes said.

The council’s arts and heritage department staff will be working with various public funders – including three government agencies and two public sector funding agencies – to address the shortfall.

Some fit-out work will be undertaken by staff members and general fundraising will also be initiated, and project underwriting options will also be explored.

The project received a $1.7m Government grant from the Provincial Growth Fund in 2019.