Some renovations have taken place to the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau.
The organization used $45,000 from the Trillium Foundation on upgrades to offices and new flooring in part of the former CN train station.
“We put in new flooring. We did lots of painting. We put in some new sinks in the bathroom,” says board chair Bill Michl. “Now we got offices that look like offices, and we can maybe rent out and get some income.”
Michl says with the ability to rent office space will generate revenue for other improvement projects.
“We have no real income. The Family Center gets a lot of donations, and they have been kind enough to turn them over to us in a way, over and above their rent. That’s the only way we can pay the bills, and without Trillium, we wouldn’t have been able to fix up the building.”
The Centre is also applying for additional grant funding.
Michl says one of their next projects will be to replace the windows for the former CN station.
The station was saved from demolition in the 1990s, since serving as home to the Volunteer Bureau.
