City of Cranbrook council approved the temporary relocation of all remaining regular meetings of council in 2022 to the Manual Training School, located beside the Cranbrook Public Library, starting Monday May 9.
The relocation comes as significant and long overdue upgrades and renovations are set to be made to Council Chambers and the south wing of City Hall starting in early May. The construction work is being funded by a $1.51 million grant provided by both the Government of Canada and the Province of BC.
This project is not being funded through local tax dollars. Project grant funds are coming from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s (ICIP) – COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream with Canada contributing over $1.2 million, and over $300,000 in funds coming from the Province of B.C.
“We have a great opportunity to invest in both the improvement and restoration of this important heritage building that is City Hall, without impacting the local taxes – something that would not be possible without this grant,” said Mayor Lee Pratt. “On behalf of the city, I am grateful for the financial commitment to this project from both the Government of Canada and the Province of BC.”
This project will see a full renovation of council chambers creating a multi-use space with the ability to easily reconfigure the room for training, large meetings and other events. Significant technological upgrades will also be made to better accommodate virtual attendance at meetings.
Hazardous materials removal from City Hall is also a key component of the project. Some additional renovation work and updates will be made using funds previously budgeted for while the City has contractors on site in order to save costs.
“We are very excited to be part of this important heritage revitalization project. We worked hard with city staff and our consultants to bring the council chambers back to its original design, while maximizing its flexibility to allow other functions like training and large meetings,” said Bassem Tawfik, Principal at KMBR Architects. “This is achieved by using flexible furniture configurations and the latest technology.”
Council meetings will continue to be live-streamed as usual by visiting https://cranbrook.ca/livestream/.
The renovations and upgrades are expected to be substantially complete by the end of the year.
Lead image: Artist rendering of the new council chambers. Image courtesy KMBR Architects Planners Inc.
