‘Dream list’ renovations made to Mosgiel hall

A Mosgiel hall with a history of more than 100 years of hosting events has had another revamp.

The Mosgiel Coronation Hall completed renovations this week, which include upgraded seats, improved curtains and new wheelchair sections.

Mosgiel Coronation Hall Development Trust custodian Ian Chalmers said he was excited to show the community the new 350 seat hall to be used for theatre, singing, dancing and more.

Mr Chalmers said improvements to the hall had always been on the trust’s "dream list", as it had not been renovated since early 2000.

The trust asked the Dunedin City Council to renovate the hall eight years ago because the 420mm-wide seats did not meet the legally required width of 450mm, he said.

The trust contributed about $45,000 to the renovations, the council covered the remaining "large amount".

"The seats being illegal in a council building ... I think that would’ve had a bit to do with why they’ve done it now," he said.

"There was no way as a local committee we could afford to do the seats.

"When the council came to us, we thought ‘Wow, that’s great’."

Renovations began in December last year and finished this month. The hall was closed during that time.

New lights for the seat rows had been added, meaning audience members could easily find their way during the show without distracting performers, Mr Chalmers said.

The new seat parts were imported from overseas and took labourers four days to build and setup, he said.

He was confident the hall would be ready for tonight’s first event back.

The council did not respond when asked how much it contributed towards the hall renovations.

titus.lambertlane@odt.co.nz