The “Victorian Lady” in Apponaug evokes an image of grace and elegance. Restoring that elegance is what’s planned for the three-story building that has had many lives across from City Hall.

Built in the late 1800s, the building with a gabled roof has been renovated many times. It served as a funeral home; barber shop; a couple of newspaper offices – the Providence Journal/Bulletin and the Warwick Beacon at different times. It currently is home for the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.

But recently, the lady has lost her luster. She’s in serious need of a facelift, not to mention some structural adjustments.

With construction of the Apponaug Circulator started – a more than $40 million project to be completed in late 2017 – Mayor Scott Avedisian envisions the Victorian Lady as holding an important place in the revival of the village.

The mayor projected that image Thursday at a breakfast, hosted by the Newport Creamery and the Warwick Mall, to kick off the public part of the $200,000 drive to restore the Victorian Lady. Leah Prata, senior vice president of Centreville Bank, a past president of the chamber and member of the campaign committee, announced that $135,000 has been raised in donations and pledges from a core of chamber members and a Community Development Block Grant from the city. The funds will enable the chamber to cover the peeling, cracked and warped clapboards of the building with architectural vinyl siding, repair the roof and give the offices a new heating and air conditioning system.

“This truly [is] a big undertaking for this project,” said chairman Steve Kitchin, of the New England Institute of Technology.

Kitchin has made completion of the building drive an important goal of his tenure. His hope is to complete the drive, which had been lagging, by the end of the year. Kitchin said a rejuvenated lady across from City Hall is “so important to our city,” adding that this is the appropriate time to do it.

Aram Garabedian, managing partner of the Warwick Mall, who is also on the committee, called the chamber “one of the best groups” in the city.

“Let’s finish this thing,” he said.

Garabedian knows from experience the role the chamber plays in the business community, especially in the wake of the flood of 2010. The chamber worked with businesses to find assistance and navigate the paperwork to get them up and operating again.

The role of the chamber reaches beyond the floods and the storms. Chamber President Lauren Slocum said the chamber can be reached almost anytime, day or night. The chamber works with startups, advocates for business, promotes tourism and helps businesses relocate to the city.

“We can get you connected to whomever you need,” she said.

Slocum also said the chamber provides opportunities to listen and learn about the community, to be mentored, for community leadership, to give back and to serve.

Avedisian said the depth of community support for the chamber impresses him.

With a restored Victorian Lady across from a restored City Hall clock tower and façade, and the circulator for through-traffic to bypass Apponaug, he sees a bigger vision – “to capture Apponaug as a real village again.”

He spoke of the boutique hotel planned for Station Street off West Shore Road to the east and the “Saw Tooth” building of the former Apponaug Mill as “bookends” to a revived village.

He joined former chamber chairman Tom Celona in calling of the community for the “last push” for the Victorian Lady.

“It’s not that far,” he said.