Officials with the Alberta Government and City of Edmonton announced Wednesday that efforts were underway to preserve the aging McDougall United Church.

According to details released by the province, the Friends of the McDougall United Church organization were planning to work with leaders in arts, heritage and business in Edmonton to come up with a fundraising strategy to preserve the church.

In an effort to kick start the process of preserving the aging structure and address urgent repairs, the provincial government pledged $750,000, and the province said the City of Edmonton was preparing a request for an additional $500,000 – subject to approval from City Council.

“It is a partnership of every Edmontonian, every Albertan who recognizes the value of preserving the history of our communities,” Culture and Tourism Minister Maureen Kubinec said.

Kubinec said the funding will be made available on the condition that the church is designated a provincial historic site – a process that is underway. The City said their funding is also connected to that designation.

In recent months, the future of the church has been uncertain – the 105-year-old structure is in desperate need of repairs and upgrades.

A report was submitted to City Council in February that said the exterior of the church had fallen into disrepair, and needed extensive renovations.

Its estimated repairs to the building would cost between $18 million and $25 million – much higher than original estimates of between $8 million and $12 million.

Church officials approached City Council to pay for repairs – but councilors weren’t eager to hand the funds over.

“I have to say how thrilled I am,” Councillor Scott McKeen said. “This was a thorny issue for us, and a lot of money involved.”

As for the province – where officials say the budget is tight – Kubinec said the funds are meant for such projects.

“Starting to have we have about $54.6 million in museums, heritage, preservation and that’s coming from within that envelope,” Kubinec said.

With files from Ashley Molnar