Community group takes ownership of Commercial Cable Building
HAZEL HILL - It's a done deal, finally. The Commercial Cable Building Rehabilitation Society took ownership of the historic building in Hazel Hill Tuesday. The group had the funds to purchase the building last September, but delays in the legal transaction meant they couldn't complete the deal until this week.
"It's very exciting," society president Stephen Townsend said of the significant milestone toward the group's plans to do something meaningful with the Cable Building. "The community has, in various forms, for past 40 years looked at that building and said, 'something should be done with it.' This marks the first time a group has been able to take the idea to a tangible stage."
When the Commercial Cable Building closed, ownership went to the province, and a tender was issued for its demolition in the early 80s. A Canso resident didn't want to see it destroyed and purchased the building. Since then it's been used for storage and has deteriorated.
The society, which started as an ad hoc committee of the Guysborough County Regional Development Authority (GCRDA), was formed about a year and a half ago. "There seemed to be enough interest from Nova Scotia Economic Development, ACOA and the District of Guysborough to do something," says Townsend. "They encouraged us to form a community group and do something." Since that time the society has worked to secure ownership of the building.
They secured funding last fall, primarily from Economic Development, to purchase the building. ACOA is also funding 50 per cent of the cost of a functional use study, with the province paying the other half. Funding was also made available to mothball the building to address immediate deterioration concerns.
Townsend says the group is now halfway through the functional use study, which is to be finished by the end of March. That study aims to identify two functional uses for the building and to determine a renovation plan. Then the group will work to secure funding for renovations.
"The plan has to be sustainable," says Townsend, "not just a museum. It has to be a functional economic driver in Hazel Hill," with benefits to the community, the county and the province.
The society is encouraging more people to become involved in this project. For more information contact Stephen Townsend in Halfway Cove at 358-2157. The society's website is at www.ccrsociety.ca.
