Work begins this week on finishing the restoration of the old BC Telephone Exchange building on First Ave.
The building, which now houses the Rossland Senior’s Association, is getting some major upgrades to its exterior.
But restoration of the 114-year-old building isn’t coming cheap.
“We have an estimate it will cost $150,000 to do the job,” says Les Anderson, president of the RSA. “It’s soft brick and hard to maintain. Some will have to be replaced, some repointing- lots of work.”
It’s the last major project — hopefully — in a 14-year odyssey to restore the old telephone exchange, which had mould problems, structural failures, water leaks, and unflattering stucco covering the exterior. Anderson says the seniors have spent about $150,000 since 2004 repairing the building, and this latest project will see them spending about as much again.
Anderson says a grant from the Columbia Basin Trust will pay for a little more than half the project, and the seniors are fundraising and working with the city to raise the rest.
“It will be over what we budgeted for, but the city will work with us to pick up some of the overcost, and we will pick up some of the overcost,” he says. “Seniors are willing to work with them, to pitch in as much as we can.”
The RSA held a traditional-ice-cream-and-pie afternoon last Saturday, serving a steady stream of customers the old-fashioned treat to raise funds for the project.
