Greenwood council has approved putting a city-owned heritage building up for sale.
Council gave final reading to the by-law this week allowing the former West Kootenay Power substation to be put on the market, at an expected price of $229,000.
City manager Dean Trumbley said the building will go on the market early next week.
Council decided last month to sell the building, which it has owned since 1997, in hopes that private interests will succeed in finding a use for it where efforts by the city and local non-profits have failed.
In a Facebook post, mayor John Bolt wrote that the decision wasn’t made lightly. “It was one of those moments where leadership demands we look beyond sentiment and face the realities of stewardship,” he said.
“For decades, the West Kootenay Power building stood as a symbol of Greenwood’s industrial past — a proud reminder of our resilience and ingenuity. But as the years passed, so did the building’s structural integrity.”
Bolt said despite their best efforts, the building continued to deteriorate as the cost of restoration grew beyond what they could afford. He said selling the building was a decision based on “careful analysis, community consultation, and a deep commitment to preserving what we can.”
He added: “By transferring ownership, we open the door to new possibilities: restoration by those with the means and vision to breathe life back into the building, and a chance for Greenwood’s history to be preserved in a way we could not achieve alone.”
Although the city provided a public comment period before approving the sale, it did not receive much feedback.
The building was constructed in 1905-06 and used for its original purpose until the 1970s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the city obtained some grants to help turn the building into a centre where people could learn the history of power generation. But while solar panels and a windmill were installed on the roof, the energy that was collected was never used for anything.
