Just the northern quadrant of the old Sarjeant Gallery building was still being worked on with the east, west and southern parts complete. Photo / Bevan Conley
Just the northern quadrant of the old Sarjeant Gallery building was still being worked on with the east, west and southern parts complete. Photo / Bevan Conley
The leading fundraiser for the Sarjeant Gallery Redevelopment says she's confident some money will be able to be secured to help pay for increased costs.
But Sarjeant Gallery Trust chairwoman Nicola Williams said ratepayers would have to fork out to help cover the $9.4 million shortfall of the project's construction cost.
In March it was revealed the Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment had blown out to $64.4 million and the expected finish date was pushed back about nine months to December 2023.
Williams said the trust was interested in finding benefactors that had a sponsorship policy that would line up with what was needed.
"There will be potential donors out there that might be attracted by the huge profile the gallery will get on opening and by being a major reconstruction donor they will certainly get nationwide profile."
"I'm confident the trust will be able to raise a portion, but I think there will be additional cost to the ratepayers."
She said when the project first came to the attention of Helen Clark when she was Prime Minister, the former PM said she expected a third, third, third formula for funding.
Nicola Williams said the Sarjeant Gallery Trust would now be focusing on securing money for the gallery's endowment fund. Photo / Bevan Conley
That is a third from ratepayers, a third from central government and a third from private benefactors.
"I can tell you right now, central government at this stage are funding over 50 per cent," Williams said.
"And ratepayers aren't paying anything like a third."
Council chief executive David Langford told councillors this week he and his staff were working alongside the trust to find opportunities for more funding from central government.
He said the idea to get some money from the "better off" funding announced alongside the Three Waters Reforms had been raised and would be investigated before being put to councillors.
The first tranche of the "better off" funding of $500 million for councils around the country to invest in their communities becomes available from July 1.
Williams said the core focus for the trust was now to raise money for the endowment fund that would make the Sarjeant a success.
"When the gallery reopens we don't just want to see a beautiful building sitting on the hill.
"It's going to be a living place delivering to its community and the visitor industry and that's why we need the endowment fund to facilitate that."
What would make the gallery truly great was to be able to deliver world-class exhibitions and that costs money, Williams said.
One way to get those sorts of exhibitions was through partnerships with larger galleries in places like Auckland and Christchurch.
The gallery would also need to acquire new artwork and Williams said delivery of education programmes to school-age children was also a key goal.
Artwork in the current collection would need restoration, she added.
Speaking to Whanganui District councillors on Tuesday, Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment project director Gaye Batty said the existing building was now 100 per cent complete in the east, west and south quadrants, as well as under the dome.
Construction would now focus on strengthening in the final quadrant - the north wing - the area next to the new extension, Batty said.
Brickwork and parapet capping stones from the roof have been taken away and reinstated after being cleaned and reshaped, while the dome was in a good condition.
Membrane roofing has been removed and construction of the main seismic strengthening for the roof has started.
In the extension wing, floors and walls were completed for the storage facility.
The ground floor of the new wing was complete and a slab connecting the two buildings has been poured.
Batty said Oamaru stone wouldn't be able to be used for the cladding on the extension wing as it fell short of testing standards.
"The design team has been seeking to identify alternative cladding materials through a series of co-design workshops involving local iwi."
The unknown cost of the replacement for the cladding was a potential risk to the future costs of the building, she warned.
Other risks were the programme and its completion date, although she signalled confidence that was on track for the new end of 2023 timeline, as well as the ongoing work in the northern quadrant.
Both of those were being carefully monitored, she said.
Covid-19, which shut down the entire project for a week at the end of March, was another major risk as it was not known if there would be another major outbreak and what that could cost.
