City Hall
The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality City Hall is located on the West-side of downtown Fort Nelson at 5319, 50th Avenue South. The pages in this City Hall section will guide you through all of the services and information you need to know as a resident, or future resident to the Municipality. As well, citizens looking for printed information can find all Regional Council agendas and minutes, Municipal Bylaws and Regulations on the Northern Rockies Filepro Site.
History of City Hall
City Hall, or Town Square, was originally built as "The Polar Inn" during the local economic boom of 1978/79. The
Inn was severely burned during construction, but was rebuilt and opened
briefly in 1980 - only to be closed permanently after the owner's wife
was murdered and the business went into receivership.
By the time the Village of Fort Nelson signed an Agreement to Purchase
the property in October, 1983, the 94 room hotel was $4.5 million
dollars in debt, and the Village agreed to pay $250,000 for 78,000
square feet of opportunity!
The West Wing was immediately resold for $180,000 to the Provincial
Government for use as a Senior Citizens' Housing Complex. It was
developed into 10 apartments, a recreational area, and laundry
facilities. Twelve additional units in the upper story were developed
at a later date, bringing the total number of units to 22. All are
currently occupied by local seniors who wish to stay in the community
into their old age.
The Village sold the contents of the old hotel (beds, bar equipment,
kitchen equipment, etc.) for over $150,000 and set about converting the
building into usable space. The hope was to develop the building in
such a way to benefit the greatest number of people and user groups. In
addition to the Regional Municipality offices and the Senior's Complex,
the facility now houses the Fort Nelson Library, the Fort Nelson Playschool, ServiceBC, and the Phoenix Theatre.
The bears in the lobby of City Hall
were approved to be sold by Council. However, the general public
objected so strongly that the bears were saved and are now a part of our
local history. Mother bear was approximately 7 years old, 7 feet tall,
and weights over 700lbs.
If there is anything you are unable to find or would like to see added to either the City Hall section or our Filepro Site, please let us know via our Contact Us page.
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