Sofia Payne, an architect and one of the owners of the Red Lodge Pecannery, testified that her team seeks $500,000 in Montana Historic Preservation Grant funding to install life‑safety and accessibility systems needed to open the large landmark former cannery as a public art museum.

Payne described the building’s history — originally a 1910 brewery converted to a cannery in 1926 — and said the project is a preservation and rehabilitation effort to create multi‑floor exhibition space, educational workshop space, a café and bookstore. She said the owners have procured life‑safety equipment and need grant funds for installation; she emphasized the project is otherwise largely privately financed and that the owners have already spent nearly $1 million on environmental remediation, structural reinforcement and roof work.

Why it matters: the applicant framed the request as the final life‑safety step required to open a large downtown landmark that would create jobs, new visitor offerings and a nonprofit museum operator.

Details from testimony

- Requested uses: installation of a fire alarm system, a sprinkler system, a passenger elevator and a new exit stair; Payne said the owners also estimate an additional $250,000 in owner‑furnished equipment and materials not included in the $500,000 installation figure.

- Owner investment: Payne said nearly $1 million has already been spent on environmental remediation, structural work, new roofs and extensive brick restoration; the owners plan to operate the museum as a nonprofit with paid staff.

- Committee exchange: committee members asked about project scale and prior use; Payne said the building totals about 40,000 square feet and that the immediate need is life‑safety and access systems so the public can be admitted safely.

Ending: Payne asked the subcommittee to approve the funding so the owners can complete life‑safety installations and open the museum in a phased approach beginning summer 2026.