Consent granted for new centre

Consent has just been granted for a new $19 million conference and accommodation centre on the Petone Working Men’s Club premises.

Club chief executive Eddie Wairau says despite a $3.5m upgrade to the club just three years ago, continually growing membership has necessitated the new facility. “When we did the upgrade we thought that would be it. But membership has kept on growing. We are signing up around 200 new members each month.

“The club continues to be unable to cope with its ever increasing membership numbers, functions and facilities requirements.  “This new conference and accommodation centre is about future proofing the club to allow for future growth,” he says. The club executive committee, trustees, membership and management have all been heavily involved in the planning of the project with strategic planning sessions and management meetings held.
Wairau says that the aim was to arrive at a solution that the club could afford.

Although the club has a strong cashflow position, he says, the focus has been on ensuring that the club could sustain the required debt servicing as well as creating diverse future income streams to meet market demands.
The facility when completed will comprise a building height up to three storeys with a 1098 square metre conference venue with capacity for hosting 700 people theatre-style and 600 banquet- style.

The area has been designed with flexibility in mind with the ability to divide the main conference area into four smaller rooms capable of catering for around 200 people. The accommodation aspect of the project will include 68 rooms of 3 to 3.5 star quality with the ability to add a further 68 rooms in the future.

The project will also include an upgrade to the existing club building including a new entrance and administration area, bar and café, gaming lounge and kitchen as well as over 2200 metres  of car parking.
The project will be funded by the club and Wairau says that the impact of construction costs will need to be stringently monitored and contained.

He says that ongoing and continual in depth research and analysis would be required to test and maintain achievable room rates and occupancy levels to ensure a good return on investment for members. “The club needs to maintain a required yield of 25% with a budgeted 15 year cash flow model created with conservative increase of 5% income per annum.”

Wairau says the clubs location in New Zealand’s capital with good transportation handy will see future growth and a good market for the facilities. “The Wellington region continues to experience strong commercial accommodation demand fuelled by business growth and events. Average occupation rates for motels/hotels currently runs at 60% with future projections of 69%.

There is a lack of good quality conference and meeting venues which is restricting growth in domestic visitation to the Wellington region,” he says.  Over the past eight years the club has grown from around 1800 members to over 12,000 making it the largest club in the country.

The club currently offers four bars and two restaurants and has around 24 adjuncts. Construction of the new conference and accommodation facility will begin mid-2012 and will be completed two years later. The new facility will nearly double the size of the club and Wairau expects it will also attract new members.
“We will be able to accommodate the growing membership as well as offer a better quality service to continue our focus on providing a good quality service, good food and good entertainment.”