Royal procession

Months from the finish of a 10-year marathon to save and restore Nelson's Theatre Royal, its trust has asked the Nelson City Council for a final loan. TRACY  NEAL explores the history of the $5.9 million project and how it has been managed.

Greg Shaw is adamant – the refurbishment of Nelson's historic Theatre Royal is "a miracle".

"We've taken a venue people have driven past and ignored, and we have ignited public knowledge about it," he reminds the project's detractors.

He is certain the project would never have started if the trust had not taken over. "Maybe the site would have been a car park for Rebel Sport."

"We've done a good job," the Nelson Historic Theatre Trust chairman says, in acknowledging the people who have turned a tumbledown wooden building with significant historic value into a community asset which, according to the trust, now has an insurance replacement value of about $12 million.

It has been done with a large amount of volunteer input and in-kind donations of materials worth tens of thousands of dollars from Nelson companies, such as Nelson Pine Industries and Freeman Roofing.

"There are numerous occasions when I've wanted to give up. I've been trust chairman for 10 years, but every time I get frustrated with fundraising, or I hit the wall, another option opens," Mr Shaw says.

The team behind the project was initially prickly about questions raised in public as to why it needs another ratepayer-backed loan to help it complete the job.

The trust's latest request for a $300,000 loan top-up through the Nelson City Council's annual plan process will finish the theatre in time for the opening on June 1.

In simple terms, the money is needed to make up the difference of the $800,000 required for the final fitout – the amount which the trust asked the city council for last year.

The grant request was turned down, so the trust has raised $200,000, $160,000 of which is from the sale of 184 of 350 sponsored seats. The trust is now asking for a $300,000 loan, which it plans to pay back.

An upstairs seat sells for $1000 and $750 buys a downstairs seat.

Despite it being termed an "arm's-length organisation", meaning it is not a council project, the theatre upgrade has received large amounts of money, mainly in the form of loans, from the region's two councils.

Funding was granted as early as 2001 when the city gave $25,000 to the Nelson Repertory Theatre Society, which triggered the refurbishment project when it announced a $1.2m upgrade of the 1878 Theatre Royal.

In 2003, the historic theatre trust took over management of the upgrade, then estimated at $1.8m.

"We formed the trust, but were getting nowhere, then out of the blue we had a phone call from a member of the public, who said, `I have something for you'," Mr Shaw said.

A Nelson businessman, who declined to be named, had sourced $120,000 from a number of benefactors and presented the money to the trust.

In June 2004, the theatre trust was granted $60,000 from the Canterbury Community Trust for the theatre's fly tower.

In December 2005, the theatre closed for refurbishment, which by then was estimated to be a $4.4m job.

By mid-2006, the trust had accrued guaranteed funds of $1.4m, most of which was made up of a $1m grant approved by the Nelson and Tasman councils. The city's share was $805,000, which the trust received in 2007.

Mr Shaw said the trust appointed Delta Projects 2000 to manage the project on the strength of its directors' commitment to the theatre building, proven by the amount of volunteer work they had done beforehand.

"They were able to give us a vision. Who in Nelson has built a theatre in 100 years? This was an unknown quantity, so when it came time to appoint a project manager, Delta was the obvious choice."

Delta Projects is a Nelson company owned by Vannessa Anderson and Andy Ferguson.

Mr Ferguson, an electrical engineer with an extensive background in large-scale project management in New Zealand and overseas, arrived in Nelson in 2002 to take up the role of engineering projects development manager for Sealord.

He said his CV was irrelevant to this story. However, he provided a detailed account of his background, including a citation in 2006 as Project Manager of the Year as Honeywell project manager at Auckland's Sky City.

Mr Ferguson also showed The Nelson Mail a signed agreement between the trust and the Department of Internal Affairs, that the $2.9m government grant secured in 2007 was contingent on himself alone remaining as project manager.

Mr Ferguson had to provide a guarantee to Internal Affairs that he was unlikely to be lured to bigger things elsewhere, and hand the theatre project to someone else.

Mr Shaw is at pains to point out that despite thinking in some quarters that the theatre restoration has been a bottomless pit gobbling council and government funds, and run by a small gang of close mates, including recently appointed trustee councillor Pete Rainey, the amount of money provided by the city council was less than 7 per cent of the value of the completed building.

Mr Rainey, who stepped away from the council table during discussions last week on the Theatre Royal, was appointed to the trust two months ago because of his proven ability with events such as Smokefreerockquest, Mr Shaw says.

After specialist consultants were chosen by the trust, such as the project manager, the architect, mechanical, structural and electrical engineers, fire-service specialists, acoustics specialists and quantity surveyors, all sub-contractor work was publicly tendered, Mr Ferguson says.

He says the team has been subject to rigorous audits and checks by government and council agents – there is not a screw or a nail, a port-a-loo or payment for services made that is not been accounted for.

Securing the government grant was the make-or-break point for the trust. It had lost out on a $2.2m grant in 2006, which left members shattered, Mr Shaw says.

"I think a lot of people might have given up at that point. We had put in a very good application, but we were declined. It's to the trust's credit that they hit a bump in the road and simply drove around it."

Mr Shaw says the reason the government grant failed, then came through a year later, is simple.

"The first time, we hadn't reached the required 35 per cent fundraising threshold."

Armed with a $300,000 underwrite from the city council, the trust was able to secure the grant in 2007. Meanwhile, that one-off council loan was never drawn down by the trust.

"It looked like we got a big cheque from the Government, but we didn't. We had to sit down with the Department of Internal Affairs and split the project into five stages. At the end of each stage, Andy does a detailed report and supplies receipts and paperwork. The money is not paid out until each stage is audited," Mr Shaw says.

In March 2008, the Canterbury Community Trust granted another $200,000 towards the theatre's restoration and last year the city council agreed to provide a $1.2m loan towards the provision of engineering services, such as electrical and heating and airconditioning.

"When we went back to the council last year and asked for the $1.2m loan, we said rather than leave in the $300,000, we have $200,000 from the community trust and other funds from our own fundraising. We don't need to draw down that loan, so rip it up," Mr Shaw said.

The latest request for the loan top-up through the council's annual plan takes the total loan to $1.5m for the final fit-out, which the city will get back, the trust insists. The final cost of the theatre refurbishment is set at $5.9m.

Mr Ferguson says the scope has been increasing, but it was always intended that it would.

"The intention always was that we would build, add services, then raise money for the final fitout. We are now in phase three. There are no surprises and no dramas about that," he says.

Because of the precise nature of the way funds granted must be used and when, it has been a careful exercise in making sure money is spent on the right things at the right time.

BALANCING THE BUDGET

Theatre Royal refurbishment: $5.9 million.

Government grant: $2.9m.

Total money in loans and grants from the Nelson City Council: $2,005,000 (extra $300,000 loan sought).

Tasman District Council: $195,000. Anonymous donation: $120,000.

Cash raised by theatre trust: $200,000 (excludes donations of materials).

Canterbury Community Trust grant: $260,000.

Total: $5.6m.

THE TRUST

The Nelson Historic Theatre Trust is: Greg Shaw (chairman); Hugh Neill (treasurer); Steve Thomas (secretary); Mark Christensen; Christine Hatton; George Dixon; repertory members Greg McCauley and Robbie Burns; and new appointment Pete Rainey. Theatre Royal manager, Guy Boyce. Refurbishment project manager, Andy Ferguson, Delta Projects.

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