A feasibility study points to the old Farmers department store building in Dee St as a leading candidate to house a public art gallery in Invercargill.
The Invercargill City Council has engaged Rebecca McElrea from McElrea Consulting to prepare a feasibility study on the prospect of a public art gallery in the city.
The work is a step in helping with the council’s 2027-2037 Long-term Plan decision-making.
The feasibility study will be presented to councillors at a committee meeting on Tuesday.
The former pyramid museum building at Queens Park was previously home to a public art gallery, but that art gallery component has not been included in the new Te Huna Museum of Southland build.
Currently, art is displayed at the temporary He Waka Tuia museum and art gallery in Kelvin St.
McElrea’s feasibility study states He Waka Tuia is constrained in scale, environmental control, accessibility, education space, and flexibility.
A list of location options was assessed as part of the feasibility study, including utilising the former Farmers department store building in Dee St or the H&J Smith building in Tay St.
Incorporating the art gallery into the new Te Unua museum building was also included as an option, as was the possibility of a site extension to Te Unua site to include a new build.
The feasibility study report points to the former Farmers building as the leading candidate for progression to a detailed business case.
“This option demonstrates strong alignment with the investment objectives. The building’s size, configuration potential and central city location support exhibition standards, education spaces, accessibility and multi-use flexibility,” the report says.
“It’s CBD position supports place-making and city centre vitality objectives. Preliminary capital costing has been undertaken, providing greater cost certainty than other options at this stage.”
The feasibility remains subject to detailed design, structural confirmation and operational modelling.
The two-storey Dee St building has largely sat empty since Farmers moved to Invercargill Central in Esk St in 2022.
It has been announced that Bargain Chemist will open at some point on the bottom floor of the Leven St end of the building.
The owners are also working with other prospective tenants for other parts of the two-storey building.
Extension of the Te Unua site at Queens Park has also been identified, as part of the feasibility study, as a credible secondary option, although it requires further site and cost testing.
“This option supports a cultural precinct model while maintaining gallery identity and standards compliance.”
It would offer potential shared infrastructure efficiencies to include an extension with a public art gallery alongside the museum, the report adds.
The H&J Smith site is said to have strong civic presence and “place-making potential.
However, the site is also currently subject to a separate feasibility study regarding potential use as a joint headquarters for Invercargill City Council and Environment Southland.
Therefore, there is uncertainty around its availability.
No gallery-specific spatial or cost assessment has yet been completed for the H&J Smith building in regard to an art gallery.
The feasibility report says there is a lot more uncertainty and risk than the option of utilising the Farmers’ building.
Councillors will be asked on Tuesday if they wish to proceed with a detailed business case phase focused on the former Farmers building, and one other option, which would be the possible extension of the Te Unua Museum of Southland site.
From there, it is anticipated that the community’s appetite for the options would be tested as part of the community consultation leading into the council’s long-term plan decisions.
