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

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

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.

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.

This project was made possible with funds from the Province of British Columbia’s Rural Dividend Program ($120 thousand),  Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Community Halls and Recreation Facilities, and Pine Beetle Recovery Funds for a combined  total of $60 thousand, and  about  $150 thousand from the Gas Tax funds for a total project cost  of $330 thousand.

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