Brockville - Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today announced an important Government of Canada contribution towards the rehabilitation and revitalization of the Former Brockville (Fuller) Post Office Building National Historic Site of Canada.

The owner of the building, Metcalfe Realty Company Limited, is eligible to receive $648,324.00 from Parks Canada through the Commercial Heritage Properties Incentive Fund (CHPIF). These funds will be used to rehabilitate the building in order to make it commercially viable. The owner plans to retain the large open space on the ground floor, refurbish the offices on the second floor and redevelop the third floor level for leased residential space.

"The Former Brockville (Fuller) Post Office building is an important part of our community," said Mr. Brown. We are pleased to learn that the heritage value of this building will be maintained for the enjoyment of future generations."

The Former Brockville (Fuller) Post Office Building is a 19th century, two-and-a-half-storey, stone building. While designed as a combined post office and customs house, the former post office building has not housed these services since the 1960s when it was sold out of federal ownership. Since then, the building has undergone a series of alterations to serve both institutional and commercial uses. The heritage value is primarily carried by the building's robust exterior design and superb materials and by its prominent sitting in the core of Brockville within a group of 19th century public buildings.

"Through this initiative, Canadian Corporations and the Government of Canada are taking actions to preserve and rehabilitate our nation's historic places, bring them back to life, and return them to commercial viability," said Minister Ambrose.

CHPIF is part of the Historic Places Initiative, which has involved the federal, provincial and territorial governments working collaboratively to create new tools and support mechanisms for the preservation of Canada's heritage properties, including the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, the Canadian Register of Historic Places and the CHPIF certification program. Details of the initiative are posted on Parks Canada's Web site at www.pc.gc.ca.