Hospice extension ready to be unveiled
The extension for Orbell St’s Hospice shop is expected to have paid for itself within three years.
Hospice South Canterbury general manager Peter O’Neill said the new extension, which began construction in late January and will open at 9am on Saturday, provided an extra 30 square metres for displaying stock.
‘‘Since we can display more, it just makes sense that it will pay more,’’ O’Neill said.
‘‘In three years we hope to have it paid back.’’
Due to confidentiality, O’Neill could not share how much the extension had cost.
Sales from the Hospice shop - alongside those at a second shop on Church St - had raised $170,000 for the Hospice last year.
Hospice South Canterbury Orbell St shop manager Karyn Lewis said she had ‘‘been making noises’’ about an extension for the Hospice shop for four years, just two years after it opened.
Having the new extension felt ‘‘luxurious’’, Lewis said.
The extension allowed Lewis to set up permanent displays for item categories, such as books and dinnerware, while with limited space she had been rotating them.
‘‘We certainly feel that the stock will flow better now,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve just got more options.’’
Lewis said there was more wall space to sell paintings as well.
‘‘We sold one not too long ago for just over $500.’’
O’Neill said the team had been holding on to donated stock for the extension’s reveal.
‘‘We’ve been keeping bits back just to make it something special,’’ O’Neill said.
Sections dedicated to winter clothing and plus-sized clothing will also feature.
The extension was built because donations were ‘‘unrelenting’’ and even opening a second shop did not solve the issue, Lewis said.
O’Neill said there was no room to expand the Orbell St shop further. ‘‘I imagine this will keep us going for three or four years before we need to consider something else,’’ O’Neill said.