The Battlefords Tourism and Convention Association is moving ahead with plans to upgrade their new location at the Battlefords River Valley Visitor Centre.
There has been an infusion of $247,960 into the visitor centre, according to a news release issued by the organization Tuesday. Some $95,093 will go to upgrade the structure to allow for winter usage. As well, there will be $68,175 in interior alterations and upgrades and $84,692 in breezeway alterations and the creation of a vestibule.
At the moment, the existing building is a summer-only facility that is not equipped with the heating or insulation required for occupation in the winter.
The upgrades will result in a fully-winterized facility that will be open year round as an interpretive and information centre for visitors to the Battlefords and area.
The bulk of the funding will come from Battlefords River Valley Board of $197,988. Battlefords Tourism, which leases the facility, is putting in $49,972.
According to Battlefords Tourism, upgrades towards winterization have already started and other renovations are expected to begin in the coming days.
The visitor centre used to be known as the Nature Centre before Battlefords Tourism moved in earlier this year. They will now occupy the centre on a permanent basis with their move expected to be complete by Jan. 31.
News of the project was shared by Bill Volk to his fellow directors at the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce at their meeting Tuesday, a meeting also attended by Battlefords Tourism chair Malcolm Anderson and executive director Ryan Bater.
"It should be a state of the art building when it's done," Volk told the Chamber board.
Anderson praised the efforts of the Battlefords River Valley Board in his comments.
"They have really stepped up," he said.
In a statement, the BRVB expressed their support of investments in the visitor centre.
"The Battlefords River Valley Board has been making major investments in the River Valley over a number of years and from the very beginning it was the plan to have a centre in the valley," said BRVB chairperson Donna Challis.
"Transforming the old nature centre into a river valley visitor centre and forming the partnership with Battlefords Tourism gives us the opportunity to expand the use of the valley by the community and visitors. This is extremely exciting."
