Decade-long project reaches the finish line

A project that has been in the works for 10 years was recognized on Wednesday with the grand opening of the Dome Building in Brandon.

"It’s been quite a grind, but it looks pretty good now," said Stan Cochrane, chair of the building committee.

There were tours of the building being offered on Wednesday evening, complimentary refreshments and a cash bar for donors and supporters of the project.

"We just felt we should have an official evening to recognize the community effort that went into getting this building saved and once again functioning for our community," said Ron Kristjansson, general manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.

It wasn’t all that long ago that discussions took place about getting rid of the building altogether.

"There was talk the Dome Building was in disrepair and maybe the best thing would be to knock it down," Cochrane said. "It seemed we spend a lot of time knocking down heritage buildings in Brandon, and we thought it would be good to try and save this one, so that’s what we did."

The approximately $7-million restoration project started in 2008, when discussions began on how the Dome Building — also known as Display Building No. II — could be restored.

The committee received funding from a great number of donors — a list that is more than 100 names long, both from businesses and individuals, Kristjansson said. They also received numerous grants to help see the project through to completion.

"It was in desperate need of repair," Kristjansson said.

In 2010, construction began. The most recent work to the building was done during the past two years, when energy-efficient windows were installed. The windows were only the icing on the cake, with a great deal of additional work filling out the past few years.

"The exterior we restored to heritage guidelines where we didn’t replace anything more than we had to, to try and maintain the authenticity of it," he said. "That piece of the work was very in-depth and was done in many phases. We also did foundation work, roof, walls — all of that."

The building has gone from needing a lot of work to now being all up to date, Kristjansson said.

"It was one of the most endangered historic sites in the nation, but through hard work from many people it is now a fully-functional building with geothermal heat and high-speed internet — some of the things that were never thought of in 1913 when it was built."

During the course of the building’s lifespan, it has seen many uses and was originally built to accommodate the Dominion Exhibition, which Brandon hosted in 1913. Now, it houses the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba offices alongside tenants upstairs.

They currently have two tenants — one is Brandon First, and the other is EuroChem, an agricultural company. Kristjansson said that they are currently closing in on an agreement with a third tenant, and should have things finalized within the next week.

"We’re very excited," he said.

"It’s been a long project for us to get this building restored."

Now, after 10 years of work, it’s finally complete.

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