The decision means the contract to provide NZ Post services will end on the same day.
"At the beginning of the project we entered in to a one-year sub-lease to enable the trust to get into a position to enter a long-term lease."
A campaign was launched in February to raise capital for the second phase of the centre's development.
"The Covid lockdown occurred on March 25 and this effectively gave us only six months to establish a sustainable position.
"During this six month period we have explored every funding and cost reduction option available and were working to build a baseline capital reserve to enable leverage with funding applications."
Karen says there were various factors that led to the decision. There was time pressure on the trust to get into a position to commit to a long term lease while potential funding sources were focusing on relieving established needs such as food, work and housing.
While both Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Te Puke Community Board had contributed start-up funding, the potential service contract for information and community development services was not available within the trust's timeframe.
"The project faced a number of barriers to bring the building to an acceptable operational standard and the scale of the building upgrade was greater than anticipated. Our experience was that funders were reluctant to support building upgrades in leased buildings.
"The Trust has investigated moving the business to a more affordable space and at this time this has been deemed not feasible, largely due to the estimated cost."
Karen says the trustees have been working in a voluntary capacity and have remained committed to this community project in spite of the obstacles along the road.
The community vision, held by the trust, is to serve the Te Puke community and surrounds in a myriad of ways including providing information services, collaborative community projects, community space for services not presently available or requiring a physical space to operate from and initiating projects that enhance community connectedness, so supporting the people and the business community of Te Puke and surrounds.
"As a trust we worked with the community and organisations to make sure we were supporting a vision wanted and supported by residents."
The provision of the NZ Postal services was an integral part of supporting this vision but not an end in itself. The trust still has a vision for a connected and informed community and will continue to work closely with community groups on this initiative.
"We would like to thank all of you who have supported this project. We are deeply disappointed that the barriers we have faced have not been able to be overcome. We especially want to acknowledge our staff who embraced the concept and have worked solidly to help us successfully operate the NZ postal services."
Karen says the trust will continue to advocate for a connected and well-resourced community and the establishment of a community foundation with the mandate to attract resources that support Te Puke initiatives.
"The lack of social infrastructure in Te Puke is becoming more and more apparent.
"Compared to other towns of similar size, Te Puke has very few public facilities and as a result there are many charities who are constantly challenged to pay commercial leases and other services who do not come to Te Puke due to having no space to operate from."
A NZ Post spokesperson said it would be looking for a new postal services agency operator in Te Puke.
"We will update the community as soon as we have any news."
