Building to provide safe space for youth
A new multi-purpose community building in south Invercargill will include a safe space for the area’s youth which is lacking, the project leader says.
The Invercargill Community Connections Charitable Trust (IC2) officially launched The Grace Street Project yesterday 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.
IC2 chair Janette Malcolm said the purchase of the building had given the project an injection of excitement.
‘‘So many people have expressed how much [south Invercargill] needs a space like this.’’
The creation of the space would complement community initiatives The Pantry and South Alive, located nearby.
‘‘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.’’
It would 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.
Thelma Buck, a south Invercargill resident of more than 70 years and longtime 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 selfsupporting 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.
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.
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 the 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.
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.