By VICTORIA EDWARDS  

An elaborate system of beams and cables on the roof of the Wilma helps distribute the weight of the scaffolding. The last major repair at the Wilma Building in downtown Missoula is under way, and one of the historic theater’s owners said it’s proved to be the most difficult.

“This is the most technical thing we’ve done by far,” said Justin Metcalf, vice president of Rocky Mountain Development Group, which owns the downtown building.

In the four years since the development group bought the 90-year-old Wilma Building, crews have pressure-washed the exterior, resealed the brick and replaced windows – all relatively straightforward repairs, he said.

But completely redoing the cornice work along the top edges of the building just below the roof has taken months of design and planning, and will take at least two more months to complete.

“It’s a long time overdue for replacement,” said Adam Pfiffner of Pfiffner Design Build. Adam and his brother Tyler are general contractors for the project.

The cornice is completely rotten and overrun by pigeons and droppings, Adam Pfiffner said, and one of the cornice pieces was being held to the building with a single wire.

Crews were set to finish the scaffolding – a platform wrapping around the entire top of the eight-story building, which workers will stand on to replace the cornice – by Tuesday morning. The southbound lane of Higgins Avenue closed at 6:30 p.m. Monday so a crane could lift the remaining pieces of the scaffolding.

“This is the hardest part right now,” Pfiffner said of the difficulty of erecting the scaffolding.

The Pfiffners worked alongside Beaudette Consulting Engineers to come up with the most cost-effective and safe scaffolding design possible. Motors are typically used on scaffolding to move the platform up and down so work can be done on multiple stories, but because repairs are only being done on one level of the Wilma, they got rid of the motors – ultimately reducing the cost and weight of the structure.

“What they’ve done blows my mind,” Metcalf said. “It’s really innovative.”

When the scaffolding is complete, the existing cornice will be taken down along with the rosettes and corbels currently adorning the building.

Pfiffner Design Build is bringing in Western Sheet Metal to create an exact replica of the tin parts of the cornice, and the two companies will work as a team to install those pieces. Pfiffner Design Build workers will also restore and reinstall the original rosettes and corbels using plaster and pre-cast concrete.

The last step will be to take the scaffolding down, which the Pfiffner brothers expect to happen around the end of September.

Metcalf said construction won’t affect the actual theater in the Wilma Building or any of the events happening there in coming months.

Intern reporter Victoria Edwards can be reached at               (406) 523-5251         (406) 523-5251 or at victoria.edwards@missoulian.com.