The Belleknowes Golf Club clubhouse was destroyed during an early-morning fire on a snowy June 29 last year and now designs for a replacement are on the verge of being finalised.
Belleknowes Golf Club recovery manager Gordon Wilson said he was excited by the new design, but was even more excited about two milestones ahead: the day when they would break ground on the site and the day the new clubhouse is completed.
The concept design had been drawn up, approved by the club and the city council, who owned the land, was comfortable with what they had, Mr Wilson said.
Belleknowes Golf Club formed in 1923 and Mr Wilson was optimistic the club would be able to hold its 100 year anniversary in the new clubroom on Labour Weekend next year.
The new pavilion-style building would look good on the old site and be able to accommodate 80-100 people.
He called the likely inclusion of public-facing toilets and possibly a meeting space in the new building’s downstairs area "a big plus".
Further details would be confirmed in a few months, once the architect’s plans were finalised and a builder was chosen.
The golf club still faced some uncertainty about the rebuild, but Mr Wilson was confident things were on track.
Because building costs had gone up 20% since the fire, their insurance payout would not cover the whole rebuild.
Mr Wilson envisioned other community groups would want to use the club house and there had been talks with four other sporting organisations who had expressed interest in using the building.
Funding would be sorted once plans were confirmed.
The rebuild was exciting, but the project was also sad because a lot of memorabilia had been lost in the fire including honours boards, old documents and photos.
"The fire burnt everything," he said.
A six page Fire and Emergency New Zealand fire investigation report failed to find a cause for the blaze.
Malfunctioning electrical components were considered unlikely to be the cause.
Lightning was considered, but no flashes were recorded near the area where the clubhouse was.
"Significant damage" to the switchboard meant it was impossible for investigators to ascertain whether it had played a part in the blaze.
Foul play was also ruled out, as it was considered unlikely the clubrooms would be targeted by anyone seeking retribution or to inflict harm on the club.
Nine fire crews responded to the blaze and spent nearly 16hours at the scene.
