After over a century, Baie D'Urfe is revamping its town hall.
The building, built in 1875, first served as a house. Decades later, the Morgan family donated the waterfront property to the West Island municipality to be used as city hall.
110 years later, it's getting a makeover.
"It's had a very good life," said Baie D'Urfe mayor Heidi Ektvedt. "But as municipalities grew, administrative functions had made it not possible to hold our meetings."
The renovation will cost $6.7 million, $4.5 million of which comes from the Quebec government.
The new building will be enlarged and will include a council chamber, ramp, and elevator to make it accessible for all citizens.
"This project is really about bringing it back to the people all the while bringing it up to modern day standards," Ektvedt explained.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, council meetings were held online. Now, they're taking place at a local auditorium -- but with this project, they'll soon be back at town hall.
The town has weighed refurbishing the building for over a decade, but the challenge has been coming up with a project that respects the character of Baie D'Urfe.
"It does make me very happy, because you can see that there is a real effort to maintain the look and feel or our town," said Aria Campbell-Kelly, a Baie D'Urfe resident since 1988.
Preserving the building's history was top of mind for many, whicch is why its facade will be restored back to its original design.
"In Europe, people, I find, have a lot more appreciation of heritage and put a lot more investiment in maintaining heritage buildings. I find in North American, sometimes we tend to just demolish everything," said resident Karin Gebert, also a member of the town since 1988.
The work is expected to be completed halfway through 2024.
