The Victoria Scottish Community Centre Society hopes to raise $250,000 for its $4.5-million community centre project on the grounds of the Craigflower Manor, with an anonymous patron who is willing to match donations up to $50,000 until the end of the month.
Construction of the new 10,000-square-foot community centre, intended to be a community hub for performing and visual arts, culture and heritage activities, is underway, with a completion date set for next summer.
The community centre is set to be built at the corner of the property at Admirals and Old Island Highway.
It has taken the society eight years of planning, obtaining regulatory approvals and fundraising to get to this point.
All donations over $25 will receive a tax receipt.
People can also donate stocks and bonds.
Built in 1856 as the farmhouse for a large Hudson’s Bay Company farm, the manor and its three acres of grounds were purchased in 1967 by the provincial government, which removed a gas station, restaurant and motel from the property, restored the manor (which had served as an annex to the motel) and turned it into a house museum, according to the society’s website.
It’s now designated as both a provincial and national heritage site. In 2014, the Victoria Highland Games Association entered into a long-term tenure agreement with the provincial government to manage Craigflower Manor, and has since extensively rehabilitated the property and revitalized the manor and sidebuilding, according to the website.
For more information, go to victoriascottishcommunity centre.ca.
