close
close

St. Charles owner decides to build parking lot next door – Winnipeg Free Press

The owner of a vacant St. Charles hotel says plans to convert it into affordable housing have changed, replacing it with an apartment building on an adjacent parking lot.

Ken Zaifman bought the hotel in 2005 and owns the adjacent parking lot at 38 Albert Street.

Zaifman tried to turn the St. Charles into a boutique hotel, but the 111-year-old building was given a heritage designation in 1986, which protects its exterior from alteration or demolition.

In December 2022, he said he plans to convert the hotel into affordable housing.

Zaifman said he still plans to develop the hotel, but high construction costs and heritage designation issues have forced him to pivot. So, he decided to build a complex in the parking lot.

He said the 12-story, 120-unit building “will feature residential, multi-family and affordable housing.”

“The challenges of redeveloping (the St. Charles Hotel) are much more than just building on a vacant parking lot,” he said Thursday. “We're still going to do something after we get through this because it's going to work.”

Zaifman partnered with Serhal Construction and submitted plans for the new building. According to him, the construction will start this year.

He plans to apply for financing from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

St. Charles is one of more than 100 buildings on the Exchange County National Historic Site.

[email protected]

38 Albert Street

Malak Abas

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abbas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Our newsroom depends on the readership that fuels our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on our readership to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *