The Delta Optimist is settling into its new home this week.
Last Friday, the Optimist packed up and moved two blocks south to take over the old Ladner Baptist Church building at the corner of 47A Avenue and Delta Street.
It seemed fitting for a newspaper that’s been chronicling the community since 1922 to be housed in one of the oldest buildings in Ladner, said general manager Dave Hamilton.
“We are proud to occupy this beautifully restored heritage building,” said Alvin Brouwer, Optimist publisher and president of Lower Mainland Publishing.
Brouwer said after years of operating out of the second floor of an office building in Ladner Village, the paper wanted a street-level location.
“We want to be closer to the community,” he said, adding readers are welcome to stop by.
The church was constructed with the help of community volunteers in 1901-02, just 20 years before the Dunning family settled in Ladner to start the Optimist.
It was home to the church for several decades before the congregation moved to a new location on Ladner Trunk Road. The building also housed a day care centre for several years.
It had fallen into disrepair when developer Steve Knoblauch stepped in to save it in 2011.
The spire, which was added to the original building in 1910-11, was leaning and the building had begun to sink.
Knoblauch and his construction company, RAM Construction, installed a new concrete foundation, righted the spire and moved the entire structure six feet closer to the 47A Avenue.
While the interior of the building has been somewhat modified to accommodate a busy newspaper office, many heritage features have been maintained, including the hardwood flooring and stained glass.
Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The phone number remains the same at 604-946-4451.
