The Hope Station House will officially move to the property at 919 Water Ave.
Tashme Historical Society, who now owns the Station House, hope to relocate the building sometime in the spring or summer of 2024.
In a press release on Monday (Jan. 2) officially announcing their new ownership of the Station House (which they obtained on Nov. 4), the Tashme Historical Society says that the building will be turned into a “vibrant heritage tourism and community hub.” This includes adding a restaurant, visitor centre and museum, and a co-working office space. According to Ryan Ellan, president of Tashme Historical Society, in an email, “the future heritage centre will be shared with all of Hope’s communities and history, Chinese-Canadian, Japanese-Canadian, Indo-Canadian, and of course all of our First Nation communities.”
The organization says they are also pursuing funding and fundraising opportunities in order to ensure that the Station House “will continue to tell stories for many years to come.” This includes becoming part of the National Trust’s “Next Great Save” Campaign” — a campaign where approved heritage retrofit projects have a chance to win $50,000.
Ellan says that, should the Station House become a finalist, they will reach out to the community for support between Jan. 20 to Feb. 22.
The issue of preserving the Station House has been an ongoing battle for many years that reached a head in 2020 when the District indicated their plans to demolish it.
Following their announcement, a dedicated group of Hope’s citizens protested the decision and began to spearhead the movement to “save” the Station House.
At this time, the Tashme Society saw the significance of the Station House, due to the history that the Japanese-Canadian community has with it, and offered to work with the District to buy and relocate it.
READ MORE: Tashme Historical Society officially the new owners of the Hope Station House as of Nov.4
@KemoneMoodley
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