The City of Kamloops is officially taking over operations of St. Andrew’s on the Square downtown as of Jan. 1, 2022.

It comes after the Heritage Society said it was no longer able to operate the nearly 135-year-old former church because of a drop in revenue due to COVID-19.

“I am sorry to inform you that the KHS board of directors have made the very difficult decision to decline the extension,” Heritage Society president Sheila Park said in a Nov. 5 letter to the City of Kamloops.

“When we applied for the extension in July, it was with the hope that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would be waning. However, with the additional surges and increasing, then decreasing, regulations, it has become evident that the recovery from the pandemic will take a number of years.”

The Heritage Society was taking care of the building – which is popular with weddings and tourists – for the past 26 years and used the revenue to pay for building operations, upkeep, and a staff member.

“The building is a treasured resource, and we intend to keep it that way. We are sensitive to its history and we will continue to work to preserve its story,” Barb Berger, the City of Kamloops’ Recreation, Social Development and Cultural Manager, said in a statement.

“St. Andrew’s was built in 1887 and is a highly valued community heritage resource. The KHS was instrumental in saving the church and leading its restoration in 1995 and has operated the building since then.”

The transition comes a couple of years after the two sides butted heads over who should operate the facility.

The Heritage Society – which wanted to keep running the facility – was told that the City was planning to take over maintenance and operations as of March 2020, but that plan was delayed because of negotiations between the two parties.

The city says information on how people can book St. Andrew’s will be available online once the facility is ready.