Last week Williams Lake City Council received the Williams Lake Railway Station Building Condition Assessment and Redevelopment Options Report.
The report assesses the structural condition of the Station House Art Gallery, as well as options for restoring and possibly moving the building to a new site.
“This project remains an important one, but it will require a partnership with a senior level of government to make it a reality,’ Mayor Kerry Cook said. “I look forward to the report from the Community Services Committee as we look for ways to move forward.”
The report includes two schematic redevelopment options for the building and provides cost estimates based on schematic design drawing including fire and life safety conditions.
The report found that overall, the building’s structure is sound and adequate for its intended use as an art gallery, and included three potential site plans for the building.
Estimates are included for restoration of the building, either at the current site on Mackenzie Avenue or at the previously proposed new site on the Royal Bank parking lot at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Borland Street.
Renovation and restoration estimates are approximately $1.1 million.
A number of heritage and community grants have been identified as possible funding sources.
In 2010, as the city was evaluating the costs of stabilizing the building in its current location.
The question arose if it made sense to spend funds to construct a new basement and undertake repairs to the building on the current site or move the building to a more visible location in the community.
In March 2011, a grant application for provincial funding through the Towns for Tomorrow program was denied, and as such, no work was completed on the gallery.
At its January 22 meeting, council resolved to refer this issue to the Community Services Committee to develop a set of goals and objectives for the Station House Gallery building, and to present them back to council.