A new phase of restoration work will begin on McDougall Church in downtown Edmonton. This part of the project will focus on the west-facing exterior of the building and will take until at least October.
Organizers admit, when it comes to such an aged structure, workers go in a little blind.
“When you’re working on an old building, there are no drawings,” Gerald Watts explained. “You basically have to work with what you have.”
Last September, the first phase of work focused on the sagging south tower.
“It’s a pretty complex process.”
READ MORE: Soaring cost of repairs could spell the end for historic Edmonton church
Costly repairs nearly spelled the end for the 105-year-old church last year, but the province offered $750,000 and the city committed $500,000 towards the maintenance project. In April, the province announced it would help establish a fundraising strategy in addition to offering $750,000 while the church sought historic designation.
Those funds will begin the process of the exterior restoration, Watts said.
“The building has been around for a long time,” he added. “The congregation has been around for a long time. The reality is nobody wants to lose the building. It’s been there for 100 years. It’s also very heavily used.”
“I think the thing that attracted me most to the church is simply the sense of community,” Claire Redpath, a parishioner said. “The beauty of this place is of course the acoustics. Everything sounds so beautifully in there.”
Redpath says parishioners were well aware the church needed work.
“We knew things needed to be done but we didn’t have the money,” she added. “Now to see the scaffolding finally up, and know that the towers are going to get fixed and there are no safety concerns anymore, just so pleased to see it.”
In addition to Sunday services, McDougall is used for thousands of concerts, weddings, funerals and all kinds of special events.
“There’s a lot of support for both the building and for the congregation,” Watts said.
READ MORE: One final push to save historic McDougall Church
In February, a city report showed the cost of repairing the church had more than doubled from a previous estimate. The latest bill was pegged at between $18.4 million and $25.5 million.
“The restoration of a historic building basically costs at least as much as it would cost to build the building in the first place,” Watts said.
He explained the congregation cannot afford to pay for the entire restoration so it will continue to look for support from the community.
“We can’t do it alone,” Watts said.
“Typically, these kinds of very visible projects are done with substantial amounts of government money in one form or another,” he added. “Plus, of course, we hope that there are going to members of the community that will step forward.”
For more information or to support the project, visit FriendsofMcDougall.ca or call (780) 428-1818.