Fraser-Hickson re-opening will require federal grant
Fraser-Hickson re-opening will require federal grant
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Published on
June 10, 2009
- Published on
February 12, 2010
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Martin C.
After more than two years without a place to truly call home, the Fraser-Hickson Institution could be reopening at Trinity Memorial Church, just outside of Westmount, by early 2010, says the chairman of the library’s board of directors.
The Fraser-Hickson was forced to shut and sell its former building on NDG's Kensington Avenue in March 2007, following years of struggle brought on by a dwindling endowment.
The library's administrators saw no choice but to sell the building to a private school and seek out a new location. The library's archival collection has been placed in storage at Meldrum’s warehouse.
As part of a $6 million development agreement unveiled last year by the library in partnership with Trinity Memorial, most of the documents and books would once again become available to the public in a 9,000-square-foot space on the church’s lower level.
“We have what is called a shovel-ready project,” board chairman John Dinsmore told The Examiner. “We have our plans and specs all drawn and the definition of all the details is all but complete.
“We’re hoping very much to be considered admissible for one of these so-called shovel-ready infrastructure projects that the federal government is trying to get going this summer,” he added. “We have an application that has been placed in the hands of the ministry involved in Ottawa and we’re waiting for word.
“If we could call tenders by the first of July, and we still have our fingers crossed, we could be in there in the early part of 2010. If we’re delayed, then it’s just a case of extending that deadline.
“It all depends on our receiving that grant, and as soon as we get it then we can start calling tenders. What we’re biting our nails about at the moment is getting word that we can be considered for such support from Ottawa.”\
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Martin C Barry Church , Queen Elizabeth Health Complex , McGill University Health Centre , Marlowe Avenue
Martin C. Barry
Church building would get a new wingThe plans call for the lower level of the church to be partitioned into separate areas to accommodate adult and children’s sections. “We expect to have a capacity of about 75,000 to 80,000 items in that initial phase,” he said. A second phase would see a new wing built on Marlowe Avenue, expanding capacity to about 130,000 items and creating space for the archives.
While the proposed new location is a considerable distance east of the Fraser-Hickson’s old building, Dinsmore noted that the proximity of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex on Marlowe Avenue and the impending development of the McGill University Health Centre just south of there bode well for the library’s being able to build up its membership.
Photo: Martin C. Barry
