Exchange relic reprieved for now

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This article was published 10/01/2007 (6906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE oldest building in The Exchange District is temporarily safe from the wrecking ball as city councillors voted Tuesday to confer heritage status on a rundown structure known as the Albert Street business block.

But the 130-year-old building that sits between the St. Charles Hotel and the Royal Albert Arms hotel can still be demolished to make way for a parking lot and patio if developer Ken Zaifman — who wants to transform the St. Charles into a boutique hotel — comes up with a detailed plan to maintain the historic, urban character of the streetscape in front of the property.

After a long, passionate debate that pitted heritage-preservation and inner-city-revitalization advocates against each other, city council’s property committee voted to confer the weakest grade of heritage protection on the Albert Street business block in order to prevent its immediate demolition.

Committee chairman Coun. Justin Swandel said the main goal was not to protect the decrepit structure, but to maintain control over the property to ensure the continuous nature of storefronts from 38 to 44 1/2 Albert St. are preserved.

That could be accomplished by maintaining the facades or building some form of fencing that complements the look and feel of The Exchange District, a national historic site characterized by turn-of-the-20th-century architecture.

“I don’t have a great affection for those buildings. I see them as a bit of an eyesore. We can certainly do more for the area and work with the developer,” said Swandel.

He said he would vote to rescind the heritage designation if Zaifman comes up with a “strong plan that shows respect for the heritage nature of the area and the streetscape of Albert Street.”

The heritage designation is supported by The Exchange District BIZ, Heritage Winnipeg, several prominent city planners and Parks Canada, whose local superintendent took the unusual step of appearing before councillors to protest “the incremental erosion” of The Exchange’s historic character.

“It’s like a puzzle. You can remove a few pieces of the picture, but after awhile, you can’t tell what the puzzle is about,” said Dawn Bronson, superintendent of Parks Canada’s Manitoba field unit.

But Zaifman said the heritage designation has him reconsidering his $10-million plan to redevelop the St. Charles into a boutique hotel that would serve as the gateway to The Exchange District. Boutique hotels are typically funky, smaller inns that fill the market gap between bed-and-breakfast accommodations and upscale independent hotels such as The Fort Garry. They usually cater to a young, slightly upscale clientele who seek to avoid chain hotels.

Zaifman, who owns the St. Charles, wants to move the entrance of the hotel from Notre Dame Avenue to Albert Street and build a patio, drive-up entrance and 10-stall parking lot on the current site of the business block, which is owned by a partnership headed by Globe Agencies.

“Nobody had any interest in this building on Albert Street until the proposal to renovate the St. Charles Hotel was put before the city. It makes me wonder what the priorities are (at city hall),” Zaifman said, decrying the competing interests of heritage purists, who want to ensure the block is never demolished, and pragmatic councillors, who only want the streetscape preserved.

“The plan is not dead; it’s just the process is making it difficult for us to plan.”

Late in 2006, city council’s historic buildings committee, composed of heritage experts, voted to protect the business block, but a community committee of elected officials voted against the idea.

“It’s been an interesting experience,” Zaifman said. “There seems to be a lot of committees and a lot of different opinions.”

But the heritage designation — a unanimous choice by Couns. Swandel, Russ Wyatt, Dan Vandal and Scott Fielding — was praised for its thoughtfulness by all sides of the political spectrum on city council, from nominally conservative Mayor Sam Katz to left-wing Coun. Jenny Gerbasi.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca