Two heritage buildings that crossed Surrey to find a home at the Museum of Surrey last year will finally receive the restorations services needed to open them to the public.
At a June 24 council meeting, Surrey councillors awarded a contract of about $729,000 to Gibraltar Holdings Ltd. for the restoration of the historic Anniedale School and the 1881 Town Hall.
- FOR MORE: 127-year-old Anniedale school moved to Museum of Surrey ‘heritage campus’
- FOR MORE: 1881 Town Hall moved from Cloverdale Fairgrounds to Museum of Surrey
The money will come from an existing fund created for the Museum of Surrey’s recent expansion, and includes grants from all three levels of government.
As noted in the staff report, the two heritage buildings were relocated to the Museum of Surrey as part of its recent expansion project. They joined Surrey’s oldest building, the 1872 Anderson Cabin, where they will one day form a heritage park.
The City of Surrey plans to open Anniedale School to school programming, so students can experience what it was like to learn in an early 1900s, one-room class. The 1881 Town Hall will one day be rented out by the community for meetings and activities. But construction and rehabilitation work is needed to make the heritage buildings accessible. The contractor will undertake interior and exterior restoration, add washrooms, ensure accessibility and provide landscaping.
The project is scheduled to begin immediately and to be “substantially complete” by January 2020.
The Cloverdale Library, which is adjacent to the Museum of Surrey and the heritage buildings, is undergoing an extensive, $1.2-million renovation at the same time. It is also expected to re-open in the new year.
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