Some commonly asked questions about the bunkhouse:
How far along is the restoration? We haven’t started! The city and Niles Rotary have replaced the tarp on top to protect the structure. The city moved the building onto a concrete pad in 2006. However, by today’s USGS measurements, it is right on the Hayward fault zone and we understand that it cannot be entered if restored in place if it is right on top of the fault. This needs to be part of our planning stage.
When is it going to be done? Stage 1 of the Page & Turnbull proposal will be done when we have raised $50,000 to $60,000. Stage 2 will be done when we decide the level of restoration and raise the rest of the money needed or obtain grants. There is no estimate of Stage 2 costs at this moment.
How much is it going to cost? Stage 1 ($50,000 to $60,000) will determine how the building will be restored - stabilized in place, moved and stabilized, moved and fully restored. Why so much? This is a city building and we need to follow the city's rules for city-owned buildings. There will be fees for planning and inspection and others. We need to pay for engineering and other studies.
Task 1 Conditions assessment with structural engineer to determine options for the building
Task 2 Phased Treatment Program - Choice of Stabilization only, Exterior restoration only, Full restoration (inside and out)
Task 3 Outline a design and construction project - meet with the entities who will be involved in this city-owned park building. At that point, we will get another proposal from Page & Turnbull and the amount needed will be determined by how it will be restored. It is unknown how much that will cost.
How much have we raised? Our first fundraiser was met with little enthusiasm and we raised about $2000. Because of that, we realized that we needed to dig into our local history to show that this modest little building had many stories to tell. This bunkhouse was the last remnant of a time gone by when Chinese Camps were located through our community. Our "Chinese Roots" exhibit and speaker series at the Fremont Main Library was extremely popular. We can begin fundraising again, now that we can assure our donors that the city will allow this project to proceed. It is owned by the City of Fremont. Mission Peak Heritage Foundation (MPHF) is the non-profit that will run the project. In years past, MPHF was involved in other preservation projects, such as the Shinn House, Patterson House, and Rancho Higuera.