B.O.M. shell! The new owner of Rossland's biggest building speaks

By Andrew Zwicker

This week the giant for sale sign on the front of the old Bank of Montreal building had a new red sold sign slapped up on it. After a long stretch of sitting empty, the biggest and arguably most important building to Rossland’s downtown core has been generating a level of buzz around town with folks wondering who and what might soon inhabit the historical structure.

This week, acting on a tip from Christine Albo (who recently sold the building) the Telegraph connected with the new owner Fletcher Quince to chat about an old building and a new life here in the West Kootenay.

What attracted to the old Bank of Montreal Building? How did you first find out about it?

Well...My parents have always been in and around the Kootenays. They lived in Cranbrook after they got married. My mom used to work for the Cranbrook Daily Townsmen as a newspaper reporter. They go back 30 years or so there, and they‘ve been jumping around a bit but have a place in Nelson now. They’ve had that for the last eight or nine years now. I was actually out there riding my motorbike a while ago and came through Rossland. I was thinking about getting a little house here, maybe, and came across the building and fell in love with it. That’s how I found it and why I found it, I guess. 

Before I put my bike away when the snow started in November, I went up, drove around and loved it. My parents then came down to their place in Nelson over Remembrance Day long weekend and they came up and had a look at it too and that really did it for me. 

The big question now: what are your plans for the building? 

I’m actually planning on moving there myself and plan to live in the third floor. I’m going to renovate it and make it into sort of a loft for myself. My intention for the bottom couple of floors is to reintegrate that building back into the community. I’ve had a couple of interested parties already talk to me about it. They are looking at putting a couple of little shops in the basement level and some of the stuff in the back like the old law office and where the old Highland Planning office used to be just above the law office. The main floor, we’d like to see something substantial go in there. Whether that is someone from the community who wants to run something in there or if we run something in there ourselves like a pub or something. Anything that opens up the space to people in the community, I guess, is what we’re thinking about. I’ve been walking off the space thinking about all the things that could go in there. It’s really a lovely space and definitely central in town.

The top three floors are pretty run down and not in great shape. I heard that no one has been up there living in there since the late 70s on the third floor. If you’ve been in the main bank hall, that’s sort of the key part of the building. It’s amazing, really. I’ve been in there four or five times and walked around. Every time I go in, I find something different; something new and interesting jumps out. There are so many subtle details when you actually sit down and look around. You see things like carved stone and stuff that you miss when you just walk through. The basic plan is to open it up and if there are interested parties in the community that’s great. We’ll have to sit down and think about what we do with it and whether we want to run a business ourselves in there.

People around town have been talking about a shoe store that might potentially open up in there?

Yes, I’ve been discussing that with a local. I haven’t taken possession of the building yet, however, so it’s a matter of getting down there, getting into it and figuring it out. First, I have to work on getting things up to code with the city and then figure out the best use of the space. We might have two or three things in the basement where the old barber shop and cellar are. That’s ideal, but if somebody wants a large space in there or wants the whole thing or a bunch of small spaces, we’re open to that. It’s just figuring out what that will entail getting it up to code first.

I think the shoe store would be a good fit. It would be great to have someone from the community in there that knows what the community wants and needs.

The top floor would be a pretty awesome space to renovate and live in. There is lots of potential there for sure. When do you expect to move in?

My intention right now is to drive down there on Boxing Day, and I’m planning to move in as soon as I’m allowed to from the city. I’d like to be in there shortly into January.

Do you have any plans or ideas on how you might renovate the space? 

It really depends what we decide will go in there. For example, there’s different coding for a pub or a retail outlet or offices. It really comes down to what’s going to go in there. If it’s just residential, then it’s fairly simple. The historic uses of the bottom two floors are retail commercial and the traditional use of the top two floors is residential. If there’s no change to that, then there’s not as much work to do. I mean there is a fair bit of plumbing and electrical and stuff like that, but that is sort of the limiting factor if it falls in line with the historic use is my understanding from talking to the guys at the city.

What’s your background? Where did you grow up?

I just finished a Master’s degree at the University of Toronto. I do forest fire management, emergency management stuff. I’ve worked with the Alberta government the last couple of years doing some research with them and then went into my Master's. Before that I did my undergrad and I’ve been with the Alberta government for about eight years. I was born in Victoria and kind of branched out from there, spending time in Toronto and Edmonton. I’ve sort of been all over, really.

What are you most looking forward to about life in Rossland? 

Skiing, mountain biking, pretty much everything that Rossland is known for. I’m big into outdoor pursuits and activities. I’ve skied Red a few times. I’ve skied Whitewater more than Red just from spending more time in Nelson. I’ve had a few buddies that have lived in town there and an old friend who is from town there. I’ve heard nothing but good things about outdoor life in Rossland. That’s really it: that’s the big kick after being cooped up in Toronto in the big city for a couple of years. I’m looking forward to getting back into nature and the Kootenays.

The thought of that makes me pretty happy.