Renovation work is ongoing at the Elk’s Lodge building to prepare the space for Columbus’ annual Arts’ N Antiques Show and Sale this weekend.
Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau’s CEO Nancy Carpenter told The Dispatch Monday that work on the building began in mid-October, and CVB is using a $20,000 grant it received from Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area in March, as well as a $20,000 match to fund the project.
“We are getting the building ready for new life,” Carpenter said.
Those efforts include replacement of sections of the porch area where joists had rotted away, electrical upgrades for light fixtures and plumbing work inside the building.
Carpenter said Gatewood Construction was contracted to replace joists and floorboards on the porch. Columbus Public Works and Columbus Light and Water have been working on site since last week to repair electrical components of the building and a broken water line that burst in December 2022. The project is expected to be complete by Wednesday.
CVB took out a $450,000 loan to purchase the Main Street property in 2015 with hopes of converting it into a children’s museum. A year later, Carpenter estimated the museum project would cost between $3.5 million and $5 million. The building restoration alone would make up $700,000 of that.
Since then, the CVB has spent another $94,000 on design work, consulting fees and fundraising.
Carpenter said the antique show is usually held at the Rosenzweig Arts Center but was switched to Elk’s Lodge to bring more attention to the proposed project to turn the building into a children’s museum.
“We’re holding it there because it’s a building that we own, and I’ve got word from some business leaders in Columbus that are interested in seeing that project reemerge,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter said once the Arts N’ Antique Show and Sale is over this week, she will work toward addressing other needs at the Elk’s building, such as facade work, replacing the roof and other interior renovations.
“We will have a scale of importance for those items that we feel need to be taken care of,” Carpenter said. “We will look at the outside porch area more than just the flooring, and also the roof, but we will do it in a scope that makes sense to take care of the building.”
Carpenter added she is also in talks with several local businesses interested in donating to the project but declined to disclose who they are.
“I am speaking with some people within the next 10 days who are very interested in and have funds available for museums,” she said.
Board President Liz Terry told The Dispatch the board has yet to decide on how to specifically move forward with the Elk’s Lodge project, whether that be a children’s museum or a potential sale of the building.
“I’m glad that that money is in place for us to do some things that we need to do at the museum,” Terry said. “… That’s still something that we’ve not made any kind of decisions on yet.
Still, the event could provide feedback and help the board gauge interest in furthering the project beyond basic renovation needs, she said.
“It will be an opportunity to give the community a chance to see the building and what it looks like on the inside and see what the potentials are for having future events or whatever the board decides to do,” she said. “We are planning on having discussions about the building in November.”
David Gatewood, owner of Gatewood Construction, declined to comment on the grounds that Carpenter was in charge of the project.
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