Main Street Project alleges poor upkeep in hotel lawsuit

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This article was published 21/11/2023 (656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MAIN Street Project is suing the company that owns the Manwin Hotel, alleging poor upkeep of the downtown Winnipeg property has caused damage to the shelter’s directly adjacent office and emergency shelter.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 16 in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench by law firm Taylor McCaffrey LLP on behalf of Main Street Project.

The Manwin Hotel’s owner, who has not filed a statement of defence, could not be reached for comment Monday.

The non-profit service provider and emergency homeless shelter is seeking an injunction to restrain the owner of the Manwin from diverting water from its roof onto Main Street Project’s roof, $50,000 in aggravated damages and other damages to be proven at trial, as well as court costs.

The two buildings are located side by side; with the Manwin at 655 Main St. and the non-profit’s office at 637 Main St.

The lawsuit is just the latest issue at the Manwin, a 34-room hotel built in 1882 now used for longer-term housing for people near homelessness who can’t get leases or other places to stay, which has faced calls for it to be shuttered over health and safety concerns.

Main Street Project’s court filing alleges the slope of the Manwin’s roof causes all rainwater and melting ice to divert onto the roof of 637 Main St. and the Manwin’s owner has failed or neglected to take “any measures whatsoever” to prevent it.

Those measures, the court papers claim, could include installing gutters, drainage pipes and downspouts along the hotel’s south edge, constructing a roof or parapet on the south edge, installing roof scuppers — a type of drainage system for flat roofs — or fixing the slope of the roof.

The court documents argue the lack of measures to address the flow of water have created a nuisance for Main Street Project’s use of its building, as well as extensive damage, including ongoing flooding in 637 Main St.’s basement.

The flooding has caused water stains, moss and mould to build up in the basement and deteriorated parts of the columns that support the building’s foundation, the lawsuit claims.

The documents claim the resulting damage has caused costs and expenses for Main Street Project to remediate and inspect.

“The plaintiff has made repeated demands of the defendant to take measures to prevent the (water)… from being diverted and/or discharged directly onto 637 Main St., but the defendant has refused and failed to do so,” the court papers say.

In mid-October, a group of advocates protested outside the Manwin Hotel, which has been the site of four homicides in the past six years, over poor living conditions for tenants and lack of security, arguing the province and city should force it to close.

The provincial health department and other agencies inspected the Manwin in late August and found issues with minimum standards of housing, issuing a list to the owner of needed fixes.

On Monday, a provincial spokesperson said the department conducted a follow-up inspection Oct. 17, and found the owner had not complied with the repair list. Inspectors escalated matters to force the fixes, the province said.

As of last week, the provincial spokesperson said, inspectors had confirmed the owner had completed all necessary ordered repairs.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca