The historic Akin House is edging closer to its next round of construction. With all the activity on the horizon, members of the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust hope to attract more members to get involved with the project.

Diane Gilbert, president of the trust, gave an update on the building’s progress during the organization’s annual meeting last week. This past June, Town Meeting members approved $265,000 in funding through the Community Preservation Act, paving the way for the building to enter its third phase of renovations and reparations.

“The actual heavy-lifting work with a contractor will start after the bidding process sometime in the spring,” said Gilbert. “The priority right now is to get this property in a condition where it can be safe for people, it can be accessible and the interior will be finished.”

Some of the interior work includes refurbishing the fireplaces and cabinetry as well as adding a glass floor in a section of the house to enable visitors to view the cellar below. Visitors cannot enter the basement or the second story due to safety reasons.

Another extensive addition will be a stone ramp built on the south side of the house, which will make the building wheelchair accessible. The group intends to use stones found on the property to create the ramp, making the addition complementary to the age and characteristics of the house.

Built in 1762, the small house on Dartmouth Street, has an extensive history that the group hopes to share when the space becomes an operational learning center. Strides to utilize the space for education have already occurred this year when young students visited the house as part of a field trip and participated in a history-themed scavenger hunt around the premises.

“Phase III is the final but most critical phase of the restoration. Once this is completed, we can open ourselves up to visitors. It still has to be on a limited basis,” said Gilbert.

Gilbert aims to concentrate hours of operation for the building to weekends and summer months. She said special programs and appointments would be another opportunity to open.

Because the non-profit organization doesn’t have any paid staffers, they rely solely on volunteers. During the meeting, she stressed the importance of adding more members to the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust.

“We’re responsible to be the stewards of the Akin House as well as maintain the Akin House,” said Gilbert. “We lease the property from the town. This property belongs to the town’s people.”

The Community Preservation Act funding doesn’t account for ongoing maintenance on the property. Other future expenses will include heating, utilities, lighting, an alarm system and any future educational initiatives.

“We hope to have an orchard there someday and a kitchen garden. This is where it doesn’t necessarily require dollars, it could just require volunteers to help us,” she said.

“We don’t have any other property quite like this,” said Gilbert. “There’s a lot of teaching we can do on-site, which is the best way to teach local history.”

For more information on the Akin House, visit dhpt.org.