The $1.5million development is not entirely a representation of its success, but instead necessary for the facility’s long-term survival.
Whalan Lodge is the only rest-home within 60km of Kurow and houses people from throughout the Waitaki Valley. Without it, those residents would be forced to go to Oamaru, Timaru or further.
At present the lodge can house up to 14 residents, but next year will have space for up to 20.
It has survived through goodwill donations and community fundraising efforts, but the Whalan Lodge Trust hopes for it to be self-sufficient.
Redevelopment chairman Peter McIlraith said increasing to 20 rooms would hit a "sweet spot" between staff members and residents.
The new rooms would be converted from the former manager’s wing and extended.
The trust would also install a courtyard, redevelop the kitchen and dining area as well as install a new entrance to the complex.
Work began in September and is scheduled to be completed by March.
The trust originally planned to upgrade the older rooms as well, but Covid increased building prices and the plan had to be scaled back.
Upgrading the rooms was now a long-term goal.
The lodge would still need more staff after expanding, but the staff requirements scaled more favourably with 20 residents, meaning the lodge would have more profit, he said.
At present most of the operating costs went towards paying wages, he said.
"The only reason we’ve been able to balance the books is because of community contribution."
In December 2013 the lodge was down to two residents.
The first resident was unhappy about leaving and the second refused outright.
The trust took over operations to keep the lodge running, but there was only $48,000 in its account.
It was unable to secure funding from the district health board, due to an inability to secure the licence from the previous lessee.
In an account of the trust’s troubles written in 2018, chairman Barney McCone said the six months that followed the lease exchange were the worst the lodge had ever faced.
The home had two residents, three staff and functioned only with the help of many volunteers, including cooks and housekeepers.
It needed eight residents to match the expenses, but the lodge had lost its reputation and nobody was moving in.
Losses totalled more than $3500 a month.
Once that $48,000 had drained away the trust let the community decide the lodge’s fate.
A meeting was held at the local hall, which more than 140 people attended.
It was put to a vote: close the lodge, or keep it running.
Whalan Lodge had survived on a "huge amount of input and goodwill" for many years and the community was not prepared to let it fold.
"The unanimous vote was to carry on and by the time that the hall emptied we had $10,000 in donations."
The trust borrowed another $50,000, but within a year it was spent. The lodge had only four of the required eight residents.
"The realisation we had failed was devastating.
"At our monthly meeting we sat in stunned silence. It’s not in our minutes book, but we did nothing because there was nothing to do."
The trust felt an obligation to the community due to the amount of effort it put in.
At one point two local girls picked fruit from their garden and sold it at their gate to save the lodge. Their envelope of cash contained $12.
Stress levels among trust members were "extremely high".
The turnaround was sudden.
An anonymous donor paid off the $50,000 debt and a benefactor waived the $20,000 the lodge owed in bills. Two more residents moved in.
"Our credibility was returning."
Resident numbers quickly rose to 11 and by 2016 all 14 beds were filled.
Things had remained about that level since then, Mr McCone said when spoken to recently.
The lodge was surviving, but it needed to be self-sufficient if it wanted to survive in the long term.
At present there were 12 residents, which was just enough to break even, he said.
But to survive it needed to make a profit, which was why it needed to expand.
"We wanted to stand on our own two feet."
If the lodge is not making any profit, where is the money for the expansion coming from?
Most of it is a loan from the Waitaki District Council. The lodge has been allocated up to $1.36million, of which it has already drawn $222,000.
A council spokesman said the council expected most of the remaining loan to be drawn down early next year.
He said the lodge was an important community-owned asset which provided for the needs and wellbeing of the local community.
"The facility gives locals a place that can look after them in later years while keeping them near family and the places they have spent much of their lives.
"Supporting the rest-home helps council deliver on its wellbeing goals across more of the district".
Last year the trust was also granted $180,000 in funding from the Otago Community Trust.
Mr McIlraith said the trust had researched the demand for residents and was confident it would fill those 20 spaces.
"The need for rest-homes is huge. Whether we’ve hit the timing dead right, time will tell. But it will come.
"There is a wall of oldies coming, but we can’t be absolutely sure when that’s happening.
"Whether we’ve pre-empted that a bit, I don’t know."
