Heritage tag rankles developers

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This article was published 27/09/2016 (3524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The proposed designation of the Vendome Hotel as a heritage property has ruffled local business interests who have their eye on a major redevelopment of Fort Street.

Developer Armin Martens and hotel owners Rick Bel and Ida Albo tried to block the heritage designation of the 118-year-old Vendome Hotel at a civic committee meeting last week, arguing the designation could jeopardize development plans for the street.

“There are no plans at this point in time but the short answer, if there were a heritage designation on that building, it would kill any future plans or any possible plans for that site,” said Frank Sherlock, an executive vice-president at Martens’ development trust, Artis REIT, which owns the west side of Main Street between Portage and Graham avenues — the former Trizec building, the underground Winnipeg Square and parkade, the adjoining Royal Bank building at 220 Portage, and plans for a $165-million, 40-storey tower at the southwest corner of Main and Graham, at 300 Main.

Martens, Bel and Albo sent a representative, Syd Storey, to the Sept. 20 meeting of the property and development committee to oppose the heritage designation of the Vendome, located at 308 Fort St., — which overlooks the backside of Martens’ Main Street property.

Bel and Albo already own the former Carlton Club, in the same block at 280 Fort, which they purchased in 2012 and redeveloped. Storey said the group is looking at purchasing the Vendome and other adjacent properties.

Sherlock and Bel confirmed they wanted the committee to postpone a decision on the Vendome for at least a couple of months. However, councillors on the committee endorsed the designation, based on the recommendation of the city’s historical building and resources committee. The designation still needs to be considered by council.

Sherlock said the hotel is an eyesore smack dab in the middle of a one-block stretch of downtown that is ripe for redevelopment, but neither Sherlock nor Bel would elaborate on how they’d like to see the area developed

“It’s right smack across the street from us in a very commercial area,” Sherlock said. “It doesn’t fit in well with Portage and Main. It’s a flea-bag hotel. It’s not a very compatible use in a commercial business district.”

Vendome owner Doug Romanik didn’t attend the committee meeting but had signed documents indicating his opposition to the designation. Romanik did not return requests for an interview.

Storey told the committee the Vendome property is key to a potential redevelopment of Fort Street by Martens and Bel and Albo.

“Rick (Bel) looked at it and thought maybe there is an opportunity here to do a land assembly and part and parcel of that would be the restoration or redevelopment, which could be demolition, of the Vendome,” Storey said. “That’s not to say the building (the Vendome) has to be demolished. One of the options we’re looking at is redevelopment into a night club, possibly a craft brewery. There’s a lot of opportunities for it and then as you go farther south down the street, there might be the opportunities for another tower, for an office tower…

“There’s a lot of different opportunities, there’s even a chance of cantilevering over the Carlton Club. There’s a lot of different opportunities down the road.”

Storey said the group has had preliminary discussions with CentreVenture Development Corp. and there is interest from other property owners in the area to participate in redevelopment.

At last week’s committee meeting, Storey said Martens, Bel and Albo didn’t think the property merited a heritage designation and, such a designation would likely complicate a redevelopment plan or make it more expensive.

“We’re concerned that by designating it, it may limit, restrict or curtail development opportunities in and around it,” Storey told the committee. “If it’s envisioned to be part of the land assembly, then the designation might cause of lack of flexibility… Lay this matter over until the adjacent property owners have a chance to review some redevelopment opportunities for the entire street, being from Graham to Portage.”

Storey said Fort Street is prime for redevelopment given what is taking place adjacent to it.

“We are in the process of gathering different development concepts on how some or all of these buildings could be linked together or redeveloped,” Storey said. “There is going to be a lot of residential at the end of Fort Street and Graham — you’ve got Sky Condo and 300 Main — there will be a huge number of people living and working down at Fort and Graham. Any development that can be done on the street that gets to our main thoroughfare and our iconic Portage and Main would be very positive.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca