Although being used as a museum, the building had never been properly "re-purposed". In addition, the structural concerns related to inclined masonry walls and a sagging roof-line continued to haunt the County.

The project became possible thanks to a significant grant through the Department of Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Programme. One of the conditions of the grant was that the project should be completed by March 31, 2011. In order to achieve this goal, the Architect proposed two sequential tenders in order to complete the weather sensitive exterior work first while the interior redevelopment was being reviewed and approved by all interested parties (a Heritage Committee, an Accessibility Committee and the 'The Macaulay Friends' group were involved at all levels of design approvals in addition to the County staff responsible for the project).

Phase One included totally rebuilding the brick north wall as well as a comprehensive exterior restoration including complete historic window restoration, masonry reponting and stone/brick rebuilding, recladding of the tower with new cedar shingles, foundation walls' stabilization and introducing of a comprehensive rain water management system.

Phase Two provided a redesigned interior suitable for its new use as a County museum, upgraded mechanical and electrical services as well as barrier-free access throughout the main level of the building (funds were not sufficient to implement the proposed elevator to the mezzanine level).