It’s one of Penticton, B.C.’s most important heritage buildings. The nearly 100-year-old Shatford Centre on Main Street has been a community hub for creativity and innovation for the past decade; home to the Okanagan School of the Arts (OSA).
But COVID-19 paused the paint strokes. The building has been temporarily closed since mid-March. “And that meant that most of our revenue stream evaporated.
All of our programming had to be stopped, all of our event rentals, all of that,” said executive director Kim Palmer. At the same time, the terms of its lease expire June 30.
While the non-profit rents the 30,000-square-foot building from the Okanagan Skaha School District for one dollar a year, it is responsible for maintenance, utilities and