Dear Grace Street Project Supporters 

Time has really raced along since our last update! And a lot has happened so high time we were back in touch.

Before we get into the detail though, we want to invite you to our first Open Public Viewing Saturday June 27th, on site from 1.00pm to 3.00pm.

We’d love to welcome you to look at the build progress.

Construction Update

We’ve divided the construction into two stages, in line with our building consents and as you know, construction of stage 1 is well underway. This is due to finish in September, later than originally planned but we have added a Stage 1b and there was a delay with some of the plant and equipment. This stage includes:

• Demolition of the old middle building and rebuilding it in the two storey section shown in attached photos

• Excavation of the floor to provide a single level concrete ground floor throughout 

• Earthquake strengthening 

• New windows, doors etc on the existing buildings, closing all in as one building 

The finish of Stage 1 will therefore deliver a completed exterior build plus the opening of the Youth Technology Hub at the rear as well as the front upstairs studio. The final stage, the interior hard fitout, can begin in July and would be completed by the end of December this year, with the whole Hub beginning operations in February 2027 - provided that we’re not held up by lack of funds (see funding situation below).

Fundraising Events and Activities 

There has been plenty happening in the events area, led by the Placemakers Southern Scooter Challenge, which this time adopted a new route (Teretonga raceway to Te Anau along the coast) with a record 187 scooters participating. The weather was perfect, everyone had a great time and the event raised a fantastic $62,389 for the project.

This was supplemented by a further $15,000 from Rotary through its raffle and auctions. It’s the first time all nine Rotary groups across Southland, from Gore to Te Anau including all five clubs in Invercargill, have worked together on a project. Besides the raffle etc they also provided scooter rescue services, marshalling and the organisation of the after-party in Te Anau – with, we’re told, most of Te Anau residents turning out on the main street to see the scooters do a loop of the town centre. Very heartwarming all round.

Our Youth Ambassador squad has been active and besides showing up at community events to promote the project, they’ve run two Car Boot sales and two car washes, with another car boot sale scheduled for August 22nd. Each school is also raising money with the aim of buying a $1000 Founders plaque in the school’s name – and Aurora College is the first school to have reached that milestone.

The Southland Community Challenge is a new charity which was set up by a group of local firefighters to raise money for local groups, alongside the Surf to City event, had their first event in March. Grace Street Project was one of three charities they supported, and we’re very grateful for the sum of around $5000 they raised for us.

In other news, we were the featured charity at the first home game of basketball team The Southland Sharks, and have been selected as the Mediaworks Foundation Charity Partner for this year, which provides us with free radio advertising and promotion throughout 2026. Plus, Cruickshank Pryde Law are on board as our legal advisors providing free legal services!

Last December we launched our Southland 1000 Founders Plaques programme – promoting the purchase of a wall plaque for $1000 and these have been selling well.  More info/ to purchase: https://www.thegracestreetproject.nz/southland-1000

Coming up, we can announce that we are also the charity beneficiary at a lunch on August 7th organised by the ILT featuring Joe Schmidt as guest speaker. If you’d like to be there, ticket information is in this link:  https://www.ascotparkhotel.co.nz/2026/05/14/ilt-ascot-park-hotel-presents-joe-schmidt/

Fundraising Update

We’re really proud to announce that ONE NZ Te Rourou Foundation has given us $110K for the naming rights to the Youth Technology Hub for two years.  

Other new funding includes contributions of $100K and $50K from two local private donors and $50K from local retired businessman Jim Hannan.

Our fundraising total currently stands at $4.14M and we need a further $1.8M to complete the build, provide the furniture & equipment, instal solar panels and pay our first year Operating Costs.

Would you like to get more involved?

We’re keen to establish a Volunteer Group of supporters that could extend our resources by attending events and other occasions where we have an opportunity to present the Grace Street Project to the public, or where we need to provide some extra people for fundraisers.

If you are willing to go on the list of volunteer supporters please drop us an email info@thegracestreetproject.com

Can you help fundraise? 

Can you or a group you’re part of help us by organising a fundraiser? Our website has lots of helpful information and ideas Host a Fundraiser | The Grace Street Project or get in touch - we’d love to chat. Contact: Michael 027 303 3128 or michael@gracestreet.nz

Finally 

Thank you for your interest in the Grace Street Project. We appreciate it and we welcome any ideas and suggestions you might have – you can get in touch with us by email at info@thegracestreetproject.com . 

See you at the Public Open Day on Saturday  27 June.  

Warm best wishes

The Grace Street Team 

www.thegracestreetproject.nz

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Info@thegracestreetproject.com