The Ocracoke Preservation Society has received a $46,970 grant from the Cannon Foundation to be used for continuing the historic restoration of the Island Inn.
The funds are to be used for the removal of non-historic materials in the interior of the building and for the restoration of the floors, walls and ceilings.
A part of this work is to move the existing stairs back to their original orientation.
This is the second grant that the Cannon Foundation has awarded OPS for this project. In December 2021, the Cannon Foundation donated $30,000 to OPS to help with the cost of repairing and replacing the roof.
“We are very grateful that the Cannon Foundation has continued to support our project,” said Ken DeBarth, OPS president. “The work on the exterior of the building is very nearly complete. The grant from the Cannon Foundation allows us to begin working on the interior.”
The completion of the exterior work on the building will allow for landscaping near the building and installation of new brick walkways at the front of the building.
This grant will cover a lot of the interior clean-up, prep and begin to provide for a good start on finishing the interior, DeBarth said. Still to be done—all the electrical, plumbing and HVAC.
“We are still applying for grants and are fundraising,” he said. “With the grants and donations we have in hand we still need around $100,000 to complete the building project.”
OPS plans to have the restoration of the building and the final installation of the gardens completed in one to one and a half years.
This will complete the nine-year project to create this important community asset.
The Cannon Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in Concord, Cabarrus County.
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