ABOVE: Work on the exterior of the Michael and Elizabeth Building at 105 W. 1st Street in Fairmont continues as new windows were just installed this week.

FAIRMONT– The bees aren’t the only thing buzzing this spring as there’s much excitement along West First Street and the Downtown Fairmont area as work on the Michael and Elizabeth Garry Building, which will house The Hive– Imagine Martin’s studio and gallery– gets closer to completion.

The building at 105 W. 1st Street was obtained last October with the help of a benefactor who wanted to honor the Garrys and their commitment to Fairmont. After the back taxes and bills were paid for, work began.

“I say happily the building is almost complete. It’s been a tremendous undertaking, mostly positive. Whenever you do a construction job, it’s amazing what you find what needs to be done,” said Imagine Martin Chairman, Jeff Rouse.

First, several dumpsters were filled as the building, which hadn’t been used in eight years, was full of debris and other unusable or undesired items.

“We put a new ceiling in there that I humbly think has turned out extremely well. It’s tin, not original tin, but our benefactor thought, and we agreed, that we wanted the building to be as close to original as humanely possible and I think we’ve achieved that,” Rouse said.

He added that they also wanted the floors to be natural to the building so they were pleased when they pulled up the old carpeted flooring to discover hardwood floors beneath it.

“The windows were primarily covered for many, many years. We didn’t change any of the design, but put in new windows for the appearance and usage,” Rouse said.

The windows, one of the finishing touches, were just put in this week.

Ned Koppen, who is Fairmont’s Economic Development Coordinator, and also on the board of Imagine Martin, is happy to see another building in the community be transformed.

“It’s great that we’re able to take an old building that has not been used in a few years and have it be repurposed into something that’s going to look great and be useful in our downtown business area,” Koppen said.

He added that hopefully the space will engage a lot of people in the community and also bring people into the community.

All of this work has been intentional as the goal was to preserve but restore the building for multiple creative pursuits.

“The mission of the facility is to be a working space for anything that’s creative whether it be holding a class, attending a class. We’re very much looking forward to working with the Red Rock and the Opera House for joint art ventures,” Rouse said.

The plan is to have artwork rotating on the walls throughout the building. Rouse also said there will be rental opportunities for the building as well.

“It was important to our benefactor, and follows Imagine Martin’s mission, that the building needs to be used to benefit the community and to help grow the arts throughout our region,” Rouse said.

A project like this take a lot of community support and Rouse said they were pleased with the response they got. Local contractors who worked on the building include Chauez Carpenters, AOK Plumbing, Kingdom Builders Masonry, K&W Electric and Boekett Building.

“We were thrilled to utilize them and they’ve all been great,” Rouse said. “We were honored to have the American Legion step forward to help with our handicap bathroom.”

In addition to the generous donations of the benefactor, additional sponsors have helped monetarily support the restoration of the building. A grant was also received from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council.

“All of the funds are used for the project,” Rouse said.

He said this is possibly the largest project that Imagine Martin has undertaken, with the Going Hog Wild project being a close contender.

“But we’re almost complete. Already people have stepped forward wanting to hold classes. The response of the community has already been outstanding,” Rouse said.

The plan is for a grand opening to take place on May 16 and 17.