Previous projects for the practice include the award-winning designs for the Wellington Children's Hospital and Aotea Centre in Auckland.

General Manager – Community and Recreation, Chris Brown says the calibre of the proposals received was very high but ultimately Ignite Architects were chosen.

“We’re looking forward to meeting with the project team in the next couple of weeks to hear more about their proposal,” says Chris.

“The public may notice contractors on-site conducting geotechnical testing as early as this week.

“Our immediate focus is making sure we get the functional requirements for the centre right so it can serve the growing community for decades to come.”

The proposed 400m2 multi-use facility includes provisions for a car park, a future building extension, as well as a potential passive youth space, and is on track for completion in 2026.

Chris says a detailed design is expected to be completed by mid-next year.

“There are several steps we have to go through over the next nine months before we can finally move into the build phase, but this marks a really exciting step in bringing this vision to life.”

Council consulted on two potential locations for the new community centre in October 2023, before finalising the purchase of the lakeside land back in July following strong community support.

Funding was set aside in the 2021-31 Long Term plan for the project.