Project Manawa

Consultation on foundational first steps towards enabling Project Manawa; a long-term vision for community and cultural facilities in the heart of Tāhuna Queenstown closed on 22 December 2023.

'Manawa' is te reo Māori for 'heart'. And that is what Project Manawa aims to achieve - a place in the heart of Tāhuna Queenstown that celebrates our district’s culture, heritage and community.

A place that has people, creativity and connection at its core, supports a step change in public transport and provides easy access to the rest of town and the lakefront.

Project Manawa is an opportunity to achieve this vision. It proposes cultural and community facilities such as community and arts spaces, a purpose-built library, a performance and visual arts centre, a town square, commercial buildings, as well as a civic administration building which is key to keeping the centre alive with enterprise and community. All on a central and easily accessible site located at Stanley Street, Queenstown.

Proposed Project Manawa site, as identified as a preferred location for a community heart in the 2017 Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan.

Scope of this consultation

The Stanley Street site has long been a topic of conversation in our community.

At this stage of the process, Council is inviting submissions on proposals to help deliver the future vision of Project Manawa. This can be broken down into two consultation topics:

1. Proposed land exchanges: this would involve a number of different land exchanges to optimise the potential for the Manawa site; and
2. Proposed joint venture arrangements: this involves a potential governance structure for constructing and administering the new civic administration building at the Manawa site.

These are the foundational first steps toward creating Project Manawa and your submission will assist Council in its future decision making.

It is important to be aware that this consultation is not seeking any feedback on the proposed buildings or facilities themselves. The community facilities will be subject to further consultation at a later date, following the outcome of this current process.

We look forward to continuing this important community conversation.

Get informed

Read the Statement of Proposal below.

>> Statement of proposal
>> Survey Plans for proposed land exchange option one
>> Survey Plans for proposed land exchange option two

You'll also find a summary video and lots of supporting information on the right hand side of this page.

In person opportunities to chat

We held pop up sessions on Thursday 30 November and Tuesday 5 December. Thanks to everyone who came along to ask questions. There were a few themes that came up so we've provided answers to frequently asked questions on the right hand side of this page.

Ask a question

We've provided an online 'ask a question' tool below. If you have a question on this process or about any of the proposed options, please ask it below and we'll publish an answer as soon as possible.

How to get involved

Once you have read the Statement of Proposal, you can complete the online submission form below. If you prefer, there are alternative ways to make a submission:

• Send an email to letstalk@qldc.govt.nz - subject line 'Project Manawa'
• By post to 'Project Manawa Submission', Queenstown Lakes District Council, Private Bag 50072, Freepost 191078, Queenstown 9348.

Please make sure you let us know if you'd like to speak at a submission hearing. A hearing date is to be confirmed but expected to be held in early February 2024.

Submissions closed on Friday 22 December 2023.

Next steps

Queenstown Lakes District Councillors will be asked to consider a hearings panel recommendation on next steps for Project Manawa at its meeting on 4 April.

You can read the full Council agenda report and recommendation here:

The recommendation will be considered by full Council at a public meeting on 4 April at the Council Chambers, 10 Gorge Road, Queenstown from 2.00pm. It will also be livestreamed on the Council’s Facebook page.