Work set to start on Info Centre building

Renovations on the Information Centre building are set to begin at the end of September. 

After meeting with Tri-City Contacting, Parks Canada project coordinator Ray Magnan said exterior work on the building will start on Sept. 28. The contractors will be rehabilitating and waterproofing the foundation

The full scope of work will begin Oct. 1, said communications officer for Parks Canada Améile Rivera. That’s the date occupants of the building will have to be moved out by, as a new roof will be installed, as well as a sprinkler and heating and cooling systems.

“It all has to do with fire protection, sprinkler system, fire separation, there will be a certain amount of heating and cooling,” Magnan said. “We’re intending on exposing some of the original ceiling on the south end of the building.”

The work is being done to restore the Information Centre building, which is a National Historical Site of Canada. This is the second phase of a plan implemented in 2003 and 2004, when Public Works did an investigation on the building and put together a report on which the renovations are based.

“The new roof we’re putting on has to be considered a class A roof, which is the highest level you can possibly get of fire resistant roofing system,” Magnan said. “The big difference is it won’t be stained, it will be a natural cedar roof.”

The renovations are being done over the winter to cause as little trouble as possible, though certain disruptions will be unavoidable. “I wouldn’t say it’s a big inconvenience but it’s certainly something we felt we need to do,” Rivera said. 

Magnan said there would be a number of disruptions on Patricia Street, especially during excavation, and the services housed in the Information Centre will be displaced.

Parks Canada’s communications department will be moved throughout the facilities, though their phone numbers and email addresses will not change. “The Info Centre desk is going to be moved into the train station lobby, and the Friends of Jasper National Park retail store will be moved into their office location,” Rivera said.

The work is expected to be completed May 1, which is when employees who work in the building plan to move back in. “Weather permitting, hopefully the exterior work will be completed this fall,” Magnan said.