Bruce County is going to consider having staff include a renovation project to Lakeshore Hub in next year’s budget.
The internal and external renovation would include expanded space to house the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre archives, as well as install a new roofing system.
The renovation comes following an investigation in 2017, which looked into renovation options for the Lakeshore Hub building in Port Elgin.
Deputy CAO Sean Morphy says in a report, “The building’s use has changed significantly since its construction in the mid 1990’s. What was once solely the library headquarters is now a shared hub office. Some minor work has taken place to accommodate these changes; however, a major renovation is required to bring this building into alignment with other country hubs and to maximize efficient use of the building for both the public and staff.”
This project comes as Bruce County is currently exploring expanding the museum in Southampton, as it was facing issues with storage and lack of space for volunteers and researchers to access materials, including the archives.
In September last year, Council had staff explore partnership options to expand the museum.
County staff have developed a plan to to move the museum archives and archival services to a newly renovated and expanded Lakeshore Hub, which Morphy says is both cost-effective and resolves capacity constraints for the museum.
The cost to renovate Lakeshore Hub comes with a about $2.75 million price tag, with the Museum Expansion coming in between $13.5 million and $16.9 million.
Council will consider having staff include a workplan initiative for the renovation project in the 2026 budget during its meeting on Aug. 7.