Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzg
As of 2 months ago there still no plan in place for it – they just took possession Oct. 1, and are still assessing what (if anything) is salvageable. Was told they're still not 100% sure if the building can handle substantial renovations. Not that they think that – but literally the last owner didn't know or take care of it, and they bought it sight unseen essentially.
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I happened to get a tour of the Winnipeg Hotel 3 days ago by Ryan Pollard. Amazing level of decay in there. He confirmed that they still don't know to what extent they can salvage any of the existing building. There was a stained glass window on the second floor, north wall that he said may be the only part worth saving. The place reeked of urine and was full of people's discarded belongings. It's as if everyone just up and walked out without taking any of their possessions. There were a few bikes laying around in various states of being chopped up. Down in the bar there was a stray cat and he mentioned they'd been trapping them since taking possession.
The whole scene was a disaster, I can't wrap my head around the fact the the province is paying the lion's share of people's rents there and at other SROs that may very well be just as unlivable. The landlords get upwards of $4/sq foot! A rough calculation would suggest they are making money hand over fist while never investing a dime in those places. Yet if we crack down and close those places then all those people have nowhere to go, its a conundrum. Surely there is a better use of that provincial money though.