Final accounts for Christchurch Art Gallery show small over-run

17 December 2003

Christchurch City Council has approved its final payment to main contractor C. Lund and Son for construction of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu,

The award-winning gallery and its land cost $51.78 million. The CCC’s total payment to Lund and Son for its construction was $35.544m – 0.74 per cent ($261,390) over what had been budgeted, this month’s Council meeting heard. Community fund-raising, central government grants and other donations contributed $14.3m to the gallery project.

Councillor Ron Wright, chairman of the Council’s Property and Major Projects Committee, says it has taken a little time to wrap up the two and a half year contract and the final payment to the contractor was being made this week.

At its meeting the City Council approved additional funding of $446,400 for the project – to cover the $261,390 extra for the contract and about $185,000 for associated road works on Gloucester Street which were added during the project.

Cr Wright says materials and other costs rose during the course of the contract and, while disappointed about the cost overrun, says the result speaks for itself.

“ This is a superb building; a wonderful asset for our city,” Cr Wright says. “Christchurch and Canterbury people have already taken it to their hearts. From the Council’s side, the main contractor C. Lund and Son has been exceptional to deal with. They came to this job from the Christchurch International Airport contract and have been very good all the way through. The standard of finish and work has been first-class.”

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu opened in May. The New Zealand Institute of Architects have given it several regional awards (NZIA Resene awards for community and cultural architecture and for colour, and NZIA Glass Tech awards for innovative and inspired use of glass and most creative use of glass to enhance a project – the first time in Canterbury the two glass awards have gone to a single project). The national NZIA awards will be made early in the New Year. The Gallery was also awarded the Civic Trust’s Supreme Heritage Award.

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