Courtesy of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to announce that the expansion of its current museum in St. Marys, Ont., has begun and will be completed over the next year.

The Hall is teaming up with Marklevitz Architects Inc. from Stratford and BaAM Productions from Toronto to develop a 2,500-square-foot expansion to the current museum, as well as a renovation to the inside of the existing structure.

This project is made possible by a number of generous private donations and funding through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program.

Elgin Contracting & Restoration Ltd. from St. Thomas, Ont., has been awarded the contract for the expansion.

The main focus of the project will be to create a secure archive facility and resource library for the Hall’s extensive collection which consists of over 6,000 books and magazines and more than 10,000 artifacts and papers. The renovations will also include a new entrance and gift shop area, an accessible washroom and new auditorium/exhibition space.

“We are excited to begin this new chapter in our history and this project will ensure that our vast collection can be  enjoyed by future generations,” said Adam Stephens, the Chair, Board of Directors.

The bulk of the construction is set to be complete by March 31, 2018, with renovations to the current museum scheduled to take place following the expansion.