The City of Surrey is receiving accolades for the restoration of a designated heritage site.
Kensington Prairie Elementary School in South Surrey was the focus of a renovation project commissioned by the city, repurposing the nearly 100-year-old school into a "holistic community centre to serve the needs of the growing neighbourhood," Mayor Dianne Watts said in a release.
The restoration project turning the school into the Kensington Prairie Community Centre has earned the city the 2012 Heritage BC Award for Outstanding Achievement, the organizations highest honour, which will be presented to the city in the fall.
At the helm of the project was Taylor Kurtz Architecture and Design Inc., who worked with a 
heritage consultant to design exterior and interior renovations to the school, adjacent annex and gymnasium, while maintaining federal conservation standards.
Where possible, exterior defining elements of the school, which closed its doors in 2006, were repaired and reinstated to their original location.
The building, which dates back to 1914, also received a fresh coat of paint, renovations to the rubble-stone foundation and new cedar shingles and siding, among other improvements.
The new community centre celebrated its grand opening in September 2011.
The award ceremony will take place Oct. 19 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby.