The Luggate community has a new ‘warm house’ to call home after the Luggate Memorial Centre | Whare Mahana was officially opened on Saturday.

The first community facility in Aotearoa New Zealand built to Passive House standards already has bookings from local groups including yoga and pilates classes, and is expected to welcome the Wānaka Festival of Colour next autumn as one of the biennial arts festival’s regional venues.

Speaking at the official opening, Queenstown Lakes District Deputy Mayor Quentin Smith thanked the Luggate Community Association for its involvement and acknowledged the time between the closure of the original Luggate Memorial Hall which failed a seismic assessment in 2017 and the opening of the new centre.

“It was a devastating day for this community — from that day, there was never any question that we needed to replace the facility for the people of Luggate, and I am really proud that we have not only done it, but in a way that is responsible and efficient,” he said.

“From day one the community association have been working with us to create what is seen here."

The centre’s Māori name Whare Mahana meaning warm house has been gifted by Kāi Tahu in response to the facility’s ultra-low energy Passive House standard and its warmth and comfort for the community.

The $5.56m project has been supported by significant grants from Central Lakes Trust and Otago Community Trust. In 2020, the then Wānaka Community Board recommended that $1m from the Wānaka Asset Sale Reserve (also known as the Scurr Heights Fund) be allocated to the total project cost.

In addition to Council, the design and project teams included staff from WSP, Salmond Architecture, Hiberna, The Building Intelligence Group and Rider Levett Bucknall. The main contractor was Breen Construction.

The building has a catering-standard kitchen and two public spaces: a main hall that can be set up in a variety of ways, and boardroom-style meeting room that can seat up to eight people. Anyone wishing to enquire about the facilities or make a booking can contact the QLDC venues team via bookings@qldc.govt.nz.

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