WINNIPEG – The smell of beer still lingers inside the old Merchants Hotel — but not for long.
The one-storey addition to the old hotel will be demolished in August, and in October, reconstruction will begin on the hotel. The multimillion-dollar project will include gutting the interior of the original building, as well as new construction. Developers hope the work will turn a notorious section of Selkirk Avenue into a thriving block of affordable housing, a café and a campus for the University of Winnipeg’s urban studies program.
The century-old building was a magnet for trouble in recent years, but in 2012 the province announced it was buying and taking over the property as part of a massive redevelopment plan for the notorious stretch of the North End.
What was once one of the most popular beer vendors in the province will be turned into several classrooms, and the second and third floors that once housed more than two dozen rooms will be turned into affordable living units.
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