The St. Andrews Lodge Historical and Cultural Society wants the Town of Qualicum Beach to give them a five-year lease in order to achieve its goal of restoring and preserving the iconic lodge.
The society’s one-year lease has expired and it wants to renew, but over a longer period of time. President Jay Smith said made this request to Qualicum Beach council after the society presented a report at an in-camera meeting on June 28.
“It’s extremely important in getting grants,” Smith explained. “Most grant agencies, be it a public foundation or private foundation, want to see that you have a lease that is in place for at least three years. That’s a big hurdle that we need to secure.”
The society aims to make the building, located at the Qualicum Beach waterfront, as a heritage and gathering place for cultural, educational, environmental and social purposes.
The project will cost more than $450,000, which the society plans to raise over time. The society has been raising funds from grants, donations, memberships and events to perform some of the initial work to restore the lodge. They intend to do more down the road.
READ MORE: Qualicum Beach council to invite group to present report on preservation of iconic lodge
Since taking over the lodge, the society has done plenty of work, including removal of rubbish, gardening, grass cutting, washing of external walls, replacing window panes, painting, rebuilding a bedroom window and many others. They were all done through the help of volunteers, donating more than 2,000 hours of their time.
They have also filed a full engineering report on seismic upgrades and other necessary requirements as the lodge will be for public use. There is also a proposal for the inclusion of external, disability accessible toilets which the town will subsidize and maintain.
Smith said one of the hurdles they are waiting to secure is the Canadian Revenue Agency approval that would allow some monetary donations to the society to become tax deductible.
“That looks pretty good right now,” said Smith. “We are hoping to get that done by the end of summer. We have people who have contacted us who wants to donate to us. There’s a lot of people who don’t care about the CRA but a lot of organizations and other people do want tax deductions for that. So it’s very important that we get that.”
The society plans to apply for grants from Parksville Qualicum Community Foundation, This Place Matters, National Trust of Canada, Heritage BC, BC Community Gaming Grant, IG Investor Group, Legacy Funding and Department of Canadian Heritage.
“The restoration work needs a lot of money,” said Smith. “The seismic work for example is a very big deal. That is going to cost a lot of money and we can’t do that much until we have that done and secured.”
Recently, the society hosted its inaugural Twilight Concert Series featuring the Island Brass Quintet. Smith said it was successful as it attracted more than 250 people.
“That has indicated that there are people who want a lively use of the park and that is very promising,” said Smith. “We’re hoping to stage more events and other activities there.”