Saturday, March 6, 2010

Faro Beautification

When Faro was a booming mine town it was home to a few thousand people. As the mine downsized and eventually closed the population dwindled, to I am told, fewer than a hundred people. Now the community has around 450 living here.

Faro has a ghost-town look and feel to it. There are large sections of town that are full of boarded up townhouses, apartment complexes, single family homes and businesses. These buildings have been closed for so long that they have now become unfit for habitation. As Faro tries to change its image from the rough and tumble mine town, town beautification has become a priority. These run down buildings have stood in the way of that beautification process.

The town received a large amount of funding to tear down some of the most obvious eye-sores here. Prior to them coming down for good, some folks were able to bid for salvage rights on them. For a few weeks they were able to nab anything they wanted from the buildings. Now they sit just waiting for their final tear down. Town is going to look so much better even with just these few buildings gone.

I am not sure what is going to happen with the vacated spaces. I hope the town turns it into more green space that can be used by anyone. Faro has a lot of greenspace, but sadly it is mainly golf course so we cannot play on it. It looks gorgeous, but it is a little frustrating to see so much work put into maintaining the golf course when the playgrounds are so dilapidated that they are unsafe and therefore pretty much unusable. We sure are hoping that Faro puts more resources into making the community more family friendly to entice more young families to move here.

It will be exciting to see how many more eyesores will be taken down in the next few years. Faro will surely benefit from this beautification as the ghost town is left behind and replaced by a thriving small community taking pride in its appearance.

The old laundromat being prepped for moving:

Cranky Franks Restaurant missing a few pieces:

This apartment complex lost its roof and windows to salvage:

This apartment sits right next to the one in the above picture. All of its windows have been removed and I am sure more was taken from the inside:

6 comments:

Unknown said...

this will make a big difference!! Your area of town is so beautiful - it's a shame that there are so many sad looking buildings in the other side of town.
Did you get anything cool in the salvage?!?!?

Unknown said...

It's so good to finally see it being done. Faro was on the right track when the beautifciation plans first started in the late 80's. Hopefully they can get back on track with fresh people in the decision making seats. It was really sad when kids playing soccer were told to get off the public green space and not a single golfer in signt. Your family is helping the community turn the corner - ENJOY!!!

lindsay Niedzielski said...

Cranky Frank's...exactly what kind of food would they have served there?:)

Anonymous said...

Good to see improvments around. A new park w/green space would be a wonderful addition for young families. What kind of work do people of the community do there now?

Gayleen

deiss said...

1. I think you need to re-open Cranky Frank's

2. I remember reading a story about Faro ages ago and thinking how interesting it was that it's a modern day ghost town.

Matt, Kara, Hunter and Cavan said...

Lesley- we didn't bid on salvage rights so sadly we just watched a few others guys go home with lots of wood and stuff!!

Lindsay- I have no clue about Cranky Franks!!! I have heard some odd stories about the place though...

Gayleen- The mine employs some people as it in reclamation now. Then there are the standard teachers/nurses/rcmp/highways/post office. Not a heap of jobs here. But it would be a good place if your husband worked a few weeks in/out at a mine or other place. It is so cheap to live here!