As the Porcupine Dante Club’s renovations continue, the lounge is the latest space on the menu.
Since the renovation of the main hall last year, the places that needed an update became more obvious.
Even the first impression of the club is going to be refreshed, with new front doors, and construction work going into event spaces.
“When you renovate a house, you always find more work that needs to be done,” said Chris Loreto, a director on the executive of the Porcupine Dante Club, about the ongoing projects.
The club is expecting to reveal the work that has been done to the upstairs event space, which includes new lighting, windows, and furniture, to happen in early March.
“This space started as a gym,” said Loreto. “We want it to match the space we’ve got downstairs.”
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The work happening in the lounge is being done mostly by community volunteers, but Loreto said that they’re hoping to have it ready this summer.
“We need to up our game,” said Loreto about the spaces available for events at the club. “We used to be one of the few places for events, but now there’s more competition and we have to rise to that.”
The funding for the renovation has come from Newmont Corporation, and the club has applied for Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. (NOHFC) cash as well.
“The Newmont gold mining company has been very generous and we will be recognizing them for that donation,” said Loreto. "We're hopeful that the NOHFC will come through as well."
The work happening in the lounge is being done mostly by community volunteers, but Loreto said that they’re hoping to have it ready this summer, and he said the plan is to have it be a multi-use space.
"We'll be able to make sauce and people can come in and eat," he said. "The space is dated but we want it to be welcoming to everyone."
Loreto says that, as Timmins grows and changes, the Dante Club wants to maintain its place for events and the renovations are a big part of that.
“We’re known for our food here, our pasta, our sauces,” said Loreto. “Now we want the place to match the food.”
