Former Mount Royal Hotel hits market for $1.1M

A derelict hotel in Winnipeg’s core is up for a sale with the potential for affordable housing space.

Tent encampments sprawl near Mount Royal Hotel. White boards cover entrances to the South Point Douglas neighbourhood building; it’s been vacant for nearly three years.

Recently, though, Century 21 realtor George Hacking has been by the property. His firm listed 186 Higgins Ave. for $1.1 million on Tuesday.

“At this stage … the new person could use their imagination to make (it) whatever they want (it) to be,” Hacking said.

He’s emphasizing a conversion to affordable housing. Historically, the three-storey structure has kept hotel tenants and bar visitors.

Mount Royal Hotel shuttered in 2022, after the province slapped it with a health hazard order.

“It’d be nice to see something positive happening in that area,” Hacking said. “We had a vision of maybe some improvement in the quality of life.”

Current ownership began renovations on the Mount Royal. The City of Winnipeg has issued permits for alterations including new partition walls, a fire sprinkler installation and additional plumbing since 2023.

Drywall has been finished, forced air has replaced a boiler system and electrical is “moving up to code,” Hacking said.

The hotel’s owners are looking to sell so they can focus on other projects, he added. A numbered company — 6343750 Manitoba Ltd. — is listed as the current owner; Harpreet Mangat is labelled company director.

There are 38 rooms in the hotel; the number could change based on the buyer’s vision, Hacking said. A treatment area or kitchen could consume the bar space, he added.

Mount Royal Hotel’s listing echoes that of the Sutherland Hotel; the shuttered, 143-year-old building at the corner of Main Street and Sutherland Avenue hit the market last year.

It burned to the ground in January. On Wednesday, the site remained a pile of rubble.

“I don’t think anything will happen there soon,” said Keith Horn, chairman of the North End Business Improvement Zone.

The area is in dire need of affordable housing, he stated.

“Any time you see a vacant building going up for sale, with hopefully someone buying it, it’s always a good thing,” said Horn, who also manages the Northern Hotel on the 800 block of Main Street.

New affordable housing should be subject to regular checks by the provincial government, to avoid buildings from falling into states of disrepair, said community activist Sel Burrows.

“We can’t leave everything up to the City of Winnipeg bylaw enforcement,” Burrows said, adding hotel owners may ignore fines.

Liquor licences issued to the Mount Royal Hotel have been suspended, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba confirmed. Both certifications — an age-restricted liquor service licence and a retail beer vendor licence — are set to expire on Oct. 31.

The LGCA conducts annual guest room inspections when they are “a requirement of the licence that is issued,” communications analyst Lisa Hansen wrote in a statement.

Hacking said he’s received interest from investors in cities like Vancouver and Toronto — places where building prices have skyrocketed.

“Structurally, it’s a monster,” Hacking said of the Mount Royal.

The hotel was built in 1904. At the time, it was called the Wolseley Hotel, per the Manitoba Historical Society.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com