In its heyday, the Elks Hall was among Flin Flon’s most vibrant social hubs.
But now years of declining usage has rendered the building largely vacant – and ready to hit the real estate market.
Gord Evans of the Elks Club, the service organization that owns the hall, plans to meet with a realtor this week to officially list the building.
“It was very difficult to make the decision,” said Evans, the club’s exalted ruler.
But inevitable. Evans said expenses at the hall – $20,000 to $25,000 a year – have been outpacing revenues.
“So it’s pretty hard to keep it open,” he said.
The Elks Club is the prime tenant of the building, which is also rented out for weddings, socials and other functions.
The club is down to just six active members, Evans said, so fundraising to maintain the building has become more challenging.
As for renters, he said there is still the odd wedding or social, but the only permanent tenant is a Zumba fitness class.
“It’s not enough to keep the place,” Evans said.
The club has provided free use of the hall to youth-oriented groups, but they have either folded or found other accommodations.
It’s unclear what demand exists for the hall, a former church built on central Green Street in the 1950s, but Evans is staying optimistic that a buyer can be found.
“We’ve got two lots there and it’s a real big hall, so I’m hoping somebody will want to purchase it,” he said.
Selling the building will give the Elks more money to give back to the community, Evans said.
The Elks themselves, a Flin Flon institution dating back nearly 85 years, plan to continue meeting in rented space if the hall sells.
But with just a half-dozen active members, there are questions about the group’s long-term viability.
“It’s very, very hard to get people to come and join the Elks, and I don’t know why people don’t,” Evans said. “We talk to people, but they just don’t want to be part of a service group.
“I’ve talked to other clubs in town and they’re suffering, too. They don’t have the membership they used to have, either.”
