Wānaka’s new youth and community facility has new framing, wall linings, and a new name.

Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) members voted to name the facility - which will host sports clubs, a youth club, and other groups and activities - ‘Aspiring Central’ after chair Simon Telfer suggested the name at Thursday’s (June 22) WUCCB meeting.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) staff had recommended the name ‘Aspiring Sport and Youth Centre’ - an amalgamation of the three options it received from a call-out to local schools for name ideas - but Simon said there was a chance the “quite wordy” option might misrepresent the facility’s uses and be confused with the Wānaka Recreation Centre.

The shorter, snappier ‘Aspiring Central’, which Simon said better summarised the expected range of activities and ages of users (which extended beyond sports and youth) was signed off on by the rest of the board.

The fit-out of the Aspiring Central - which is located in Anderson Heights - is progressing well, Simon said in an update.

WUCCB members visited the site for a walk-through and general update on June 16.

Framing of the building’s spaces is on track, with the framing in the Kahu Youth space “largely complete” and insulation and wall-linings currently being installed.

Framing to the toilets and meeting rooms are also “well underway”, Simon said.

The Aspiring Gymsports space, which is due to be handed over to the club for use on June 30, “will all be tied together with the installation of some of the larger items”. 

A community-led proposal to buy or lease the former Mitre 10 building to repurpose it as a community centre was originally pitched to the previous community board in February 2021 and in April 2022 a ten-year lease for the building was approved. 

PHOTO: QLDC