The Marlborough Civic Theatre Trust has reached its fundraising goal of $3 million towards building a $17m theatre next to Clubs Marlborough, in Blenheim, but will continue fundraising until the theatre is built.
Trust chairman Kevin Moseley told the annual public meeting last night he had met some "incredibly generous" people who had helped the trust reach its target.
One example was the day he collected a pledge of $5000 from a Marlborough farmer, and the man's father decided to contribute $9000.
There were many similar examples but most wanted to remain anonymous, Mr Moseley said.
The recession and the tough times in the wine industry meant the fundraising was even more remarkable, he said.
About $1 million of the total was from donations of more than $200,000, and about $500,000 was from donations of $50,000 to $100,000.
The remaining $1.5m was from people donating small amounts and up to $50,000.
The community spirit and generosity of the community towards the project was great, he said.
Some of the money was donated on the condition that it would be paid once resource consent had been approved, or with part of it now and the remainder a year later, Mr Moseley said. "The public don't buy into it until the spade goes in the sand."
Resource consent was expected to be granted in about two weeks, he said.
The theatre's design was still being tweaked because the architect wanted it to fit better with the Clubs Marlborough building. Construction would not start until the Marlborough District Council carpark in Alfred St was finished in mid-2011.
The trust has developed a funding jigsaw that includes raising $3m from the community, a $5m grant promised by the council, and funds from the sale or lease of the existing theatre in Arthur St.
A government grant, expected to fund the remaining $4m, has been suspended this year. There was a chance it would come through next year but the trust did not want to rely on that, Mr Moseley said.
Raising the money was one of many hurdles for the trust, and it needed to take the process one step at a time, he said.
"It would be foolish to sell the [existing] building and then 12 months down the track find there's no project to work on.
"We're all proud of [the civic theatre]. It would be great if it could remain a community centre in some way."
By Simon Wong and Claire Connell - The Marlborough Express
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