A piece of the communities’ storied history came full circle on Saturday afternoon with the grand re-opening of Delta’s historic municipal hall in Ladner.
The century-old building at the corner of Bridge Street, was home of the Delta Museum for almost 50 years. It also served as Delta’s municipal hall and police station before that.
Following an extensive $2.5-million rehabilitation, which started in 2016, the hall will now be home to the Ladner Community Police Station (CoPS).
Dignitaries from federal, provincial and municipal governments were piped up the stairs of the hall by the Delta Police Pipe Band during the opening ceremonies where speeches were made and a plaque signifying the milestone was unveiled.
The public then enjoyed tours, refreshments and displays inside the building.
According to Delta, careful and respectful rehabilitation combined with necessary upgrades have enhanced the heritage significance and extended the useful life of the building. An elevator has been added and public washrooms are now available.
Acting city manager Ken Kuntz said besides the Ladner CoPS on the second level, the building will be utilized as a storage space for the DPD pipe band, and storage in the lower level for the DPD bike patrol. He said the third level will be for a municipal service, but what that service will be has not been decided yet.
The restoration project included more than $500,000 from the federal government’s Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Fund.
“I’m very proud that Delta received this funding, but it was the city it wasn’t me,” said Delta MP Carla Qualtrough. “I loved handing out the cheque, but it was the hard working people behind the scenes that brought this money to Delta. Thanks to this funding the Delta historic municipal hall will continue to play a role in Delta’s story for many years to come.”
Mayor Lois Jackson said maintaining culture and heritage is a mandate for Delta council and this project lives up to that mandate.
“I along with council recognized the significance of this building. We knew we had to preserve this heritage jewel and we have worked long and hard to make this happen,” said Jackson. “This building is a proud symbol of the origins of civic government in Delta.”
Delta police Chief Neil Dubord said Saturday felt a little like Christmas Day.
“I have had a present under the tree for the past two years and finally we get to open it today and it’s really quite amazing,” said Dubord. “To say that this community police office in historic Delta is impressive is really an understatement.”
