The mud-brick Vallance Cottage, in Samson St, was built in 1896 by Central Otago settler William Vallance and lived in by generations of the family until the 1970s.
This year a conservation plan was created that outlined immediate and long-term renovations the building required.
"Then we will look for commercial interest. Perhaps something temporary like a coffee cart next to the building so people can have a walk around inside the cottage at the same time. We could create an al fresco dining experience."
The council had interest from a baker wanting to operate next to the cottage, which was withdrawn, but the model would work, she said.The commercial operation could help to fund the upkeep of the building, she said.
"While the volunteers are awesome, interest is always cyclical so we need a long-term use."
Working group member Clair Higginson said the building was special because it was one of the few mud-brick buildings left in the town.
"Alexandra is old, but unlike Clyde it doesn’t have many old buildings left. I think in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s people were upset with how old everything was and we lost almost all of our historic buildings."
Working group member and Central Stories Museum board member Nola Hambleton said it was also important it was kept in the same family for so long.
"When you walk in, it’s like they walked out of it yesterday."
The building was given to the council by the family in the mid-1990s, at which point there was a major community-led renovation project.
Relatives of the family who owned it, who live across the country and in Australia, are involved in the project and link into group meetings via video chat.
Ms Martin said one idea was to link the cottage to other attractions in Alexandra, such as the clock and Shaky Bridge vineyard, and create a mini-trail.
"On the [Otago Central] Rail Trail visitors tend to bypass Alex, but having some kind of trail you were able to do would be a neat first impression of the town."
William Vallance lived in the cottage with his wife, Jean, and eight children.
He used his gold dredge on the Manuherikia River right outside the building and was the foreman at a rabbit processing plant nearby, where the Alexandra Holiday Park is now.
The cottage was kept in the family by descendants until it became vacant in the 1970s.
Ms Higginson said that after years of planning, the group was "on the cusp of actually getting things happening".
