Kolkata:
The 103-year-old stately Park Mansions, located in the city's stylish Park Street has bagged the first heritage award instituted by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
The honour comes five years after restoration work began on the sprawling edifice built by Armenian jute merchant T.M. Thaddeus in 1910, an INTACH statement said.
The award, recognising the painstaking efforts made by heritage building owners at authentic restoration, comes close on the heels of the World Heritage Week that concluded on November 25.
"After due deliberations, the committee unanimously agreed to confer this award for the year 2013 to Park Mansions, the landmark building on Park Street at its crossing with Free School Street, for the attention to detail and the care taken in keeping the restoration process as authentic as possible," said G.M. Kapur, state convener for INTACH.
The Mansions was developed as a rental property with mixed-usage sections comprising both residential and commercial segments.
Now owned by the Apeejay Surrendra Group, the building's renovation work involved nearly 70 skilled and unskilled workers. These included a specialised team from Midnapore town of the state, a team of architects, and a presidential award winning artist for excellence in terracotta from Bandel, Hooghly, overseen by Apeejay's own team of engineers.