The Appleyard house is being moved to the site of the Port Moody Arts Centre.
Photograph by: NOW , file photo
The historic Appleyard residence is on the move once again, albeit for a much shorter distance than in past journeys.
The City of Port Moody and the Port Moody Arts Centre Society have agreed to move the 100-year-old house from its current location at 126 Kyle St. to its final resting spot directly beside the arts centre at 2425 St. Johns St.
Mayor Mike Clay suggested the house would be a perfect fit with the arts centre, both in terms of the physical space and operations of both buildings.
"I think it will look great there. They're very similar in character, the buildings," he told The NOW, adding the two facilities will be joined by a walkway.
He also noted the historic home's move to the arts centre could cut down on annual operational costs as much as $60,000, since it will be the same staff and equipment in both buildings.
The relocation itself should also come with few additional costs, other than about $5,000 extra to move the utilities.
Clay explained all the effort and equipment needed to move the house to its new location would have been used anyway to put the building on its foundation at Kyle Street.
"It looks like a good deal," he said.
The city moved the heritage house from Clarke Street to Kyle Street last July.
The decision to find the building a permanent home was made easier after the society received a near $500,000 grant from the federal government last month.
The city applied for the grant back in September, but not without causing a bit of a stir among city council. Some councillors were concerned the project's price tag could hit nearly $1 million if the city's matching dollars are included.
Clay has stated he doubts council has any intention of matching the federal dollars all the way up to $480,000.
So far, the city has approved $330,000 from its heritage fund for the project, including $157,000 to move the house to its current location.
Though there is no timeline for when the project would be complete, Clay said it would need to be finished by the end of the year to qualify for the funding.
The mayor hopes the move can be done in the summer with an opening sometime by the end of 2013.
Last May, the provincial government agreed to give the heritage house back to the City of Port Moody, which in turn agreed to move the house to make way for the construction of the Evergreen Line.
