FILE PHOTO - With almost $500,000 in funding from the province, the heritage restoration project at the Old Courthouse in Kamloops is projected to start this spring.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
February 23, 2021 - 4:30 PM
The Old Courthouse restoration project in Kamloops has been awarded a B.C. government grant of nearly $500,000.
The grant, part of the province's economic recovery plans, will be used to "restore the slate roof, rehabilitate interior and exterior woodwork, and restore exterior retaining walls," according to a City press release.
The City purchased the heritage building in 2007 with the goal of rehabilitating it. Recreation, social development and culture manager Barbara Berger said the $494,065 grant now makes it possible to finally restore it as intended.
The money will be used to restore the slate roof, rehabilitate interior and exterior woodwork, and restore exterior retaining walls.
"The project will also strengthen opportunities for local businesses and the tourism community to encourage visits to the downtown, when it is safe to do so, and will support the artists and the arts and cultural groups who rely on the Old Courthouse for their livelihoods," reads the press release.
READ MORE: Why Thompson-Okanagan cities are doomed to repeat heritage protection failures
The City plans to start the work this spring and employ local workers and used provincially sourced materials.
The recovery fund is part part the community economic recovery infrastructure fund, a $100 million provincial fund. Kamloops was one of 68 communities in B.C. to receive a heritage infrastructure grant.
The Old Courthouse currently hosts the Kamloops Courthouse Gallery and gift shop, which remains open with a limit of four visitors at a time.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021