One year after a devastating fire claimed a fish hatchery run by Centennial secondary school students and the Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society, a new building is rising from the ashes in Port Moody.
This week, Kingston Construction installed the roof just two days short of a year from the Dec. 11, 2013 blaze that destroyed the original hatchery and education centre, and the archives.
"I'm still saying April [for completion] but, technically speaking, we are well ahead of schedule," said volunteer project manager Patrick Dennett, describing the work that has been taking place at the site located up a gravel road from Ioco Road.
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The two-storey building is more energy efficient and sturdy than the original structure and the incubation room will be indoors. As much as $1.2 million in cash, in-kind and other donations will have been raised by the time the project is completed, and volunteers have been moving gravel, painting and helping to clean up the site. Soon, hatchery equipment can be moved in because the drywall and first-floor concrete have been installed and painted.
In fact, without community and business donations large and small, the hatchery would not be where it is today and to celebrate, BIMES is hosting a holiday open house on Sunday, Dec. 21 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Visitors will be given a tour of the building site and are asked to bring a donation for the food bank.
"Although restricted in budget, it in no way diminished the final product," Mossom co-founder Rod MacVicar said in press release. "I think Mossom 2.0 is worthy of some sort of special architectural recognition for the way it reflects its purpose and the environment it is well set into.
"The building's first storey communicates a strength and ruggedness, just like a rocky stream base. We wanted a solid foundation for our future."
More information about BIMES and the Mossom Creek Hatchery and Education Centre, as well as an opportunity to donate, can be found at www.mossomcreek.org.
