Coalition wants to buy, redevelop North End hotel

A North End hotel police know all too well could be transformed into a housing complex, education centre and more, if a coalition of community groups succeeds in buying the 98-year-old hotel.

The coalition announced on Monday that it is working on acquiring the Merchants Hotel building and adjacent lots, located on the corner of Selkirk Avenue and Andrews Street. It says it hopes to acquire 21,000 square feet of space in total.

That space would then be redeveloped into a "vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood resource" that includes an education centre, a new housing complex, green space and retail enterprises, according to the coalition, which includes aboriginal groups and North End organizations.

Community elder Stan McKay said as more aboriginal people move to Winnipeg and settle in the North End, more resources are needed to change an area that has been plagued by violence and crime.

"I think from that time on, we longed for a transformation, not only of the space but of the spirit of the space," McKay said at a news conference and aboriginal smudging ceremony on Monday.

Built in 1913, the Merchants Hotel building first housed a hardware store before it became a hotel. Today, it has 20 hotel rooms, a beer vendor and a beverage room.

Any plans for redevelopment would ensure there is appropriate housing for the 13 people that currently live in the hotel, according to the coalition.

Recent attacks in the area

Numerous robberies and stabbings have taken place in the vicinity within the past year, including thestabbing deathof a 42-year-old woman outside the hotel in April.

In September 2010, a 47-year-old man wasattacked and set on fireafter he had gone to the hotel to buy beer.

"It's real dangerous in the hotel there all the time. The fightingit's not safe for the kids," said Jane Hebert, who has raised eight children near Selkirk Avenue.

The coalition said it plans to hold community meetings over the next nine months to generate ideas towards a plan for redeveloping the site.

The groups will also have to secure funding and complete a feasibility study. Ownership of the site could be transferred at the end of April 2012.

But despite the talk about revitalizing the area, Merchant Hotel officials said the deal is not close to being finalized. Signs posted on the hotel's door say the building has not been sold.

The coalition said purchasing terms, including the price, have been set with the hotel's owner. However, the owner told CBC News he has signed off on nothing.

The community coalition is led by the North End Community Renewal Corporation and the University of Winnipeg's Urban and Inner-City Studies Program.