Quesnel, B.C. – July 26, 2017 –The City of Quesnel has opened the new Spirit Centre, adjacent to Spirit Square. The Spirit Centre is the home of accessible public washrooms, a community event promotion space, a new office for the Quesnel Downtown Association, and a satellite office for Barkerville Historic Town and Park.

There has been a long-standing community desire to have accessible public washrooms in the downtown core. This facility makes it possible for more people to spend more time downtown, especially seniors and young families. Having public washrooms downtown also encourages travellers on highway 97 to stop downtown. Once off the highway, they may take time to explore and spend more time in Quesnel.

The community event promotion space will be available for non-profit organizations hosting events in Quesnel. This location may be used to sell tickets, recruit volunteers, and promote upcoming events to downtown traffic. It is currently being used by the BC Wildfire Service to provide information to the community about fires in the region.

Offices for the Quesnel Downtown Association and Barkerville Historic Town and Park will make both of these organizations more accessible to the public. These organizations will be moving into their offices in early August.

A grand opening event is scheduled for Saturday, September 23.

This project was made possible with funds from the Province of British Columbia’s Rural Dividend Program, and Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Community Halls and Recreation Facilities, and Pine Beetle Recovery Funds.

Quotes:

Bruce Broughton, President, Quesnel Downtown Association
“The Quesnel Downtown Association’s move to Spirit Centre will make us more accessible and visible than our present location.  Having our offices at street level will make it easier to deal with our downtown business members and with the public at large.”

Joel McKay, CEO, Northern Development Initiative Trust
“Northern Development Initiative Trust is proud to support this project which provides a gathering space for community groups, promotion of events encouraging the growth of the tourism sector, and an accessible public washroom improving downtown vitality in Quesnel.”

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Media Contact

Teann Ingram
Communications Clerk
E: tingram@quesnel.ca
T: 250-991-7475