Manwin Hotel for sale for $2.8M shortly after city order forces tenants to vacate

A troubled Winnipeg hotel vacated earlier this year over safety concerns has been put on the market, and while some say the building can be used to better support the community, others say it is beyond redemption.

The Manwin Hotel in the inner city has a price tag of nearly $2.8 million with a few prospective buyers already eyeing it up, said Brad Gross, the realtor for the property which sits one block north of downtown on Main Street. 

The owner made the decision to sell after losing an appeal against the city on an order to close the premises and vacate all remaining tenants, Gross said.

The hotel was subjected to many visits from city inspectors, had a previous city closure order in 2021 and a public protest against the living conditions within its more than 30 suites — only 24 of which are permitted by the city — according to city property officials. 

Manwin Hotel owner Akim Kambamba is "pretty upset because the city just sort of closed him down and put a bunch of people out on the streets when it was –40 C," Gross told CBC on Sunday. 

City officials previously said they would try to find homes for the eight remaining residents.

The Manwin has been the scene of stabbings, assaults and deaths several times over the years.

While the outside of the building is boarded up and marked with graffiti, Gross said the inside is "not in bad shape at all."

"It's full of a lot of clutter … but I mean, remember, they just closed the doors and kicked everybody out. You know in those situations, you can't even grab anything, you gotta just go," he said. 

The building, approximately 10,000 sq feet in size, will have to undergo multiple renovations to bring it up to code, including the replacement of a staircase, fire escape and gutting the bedrooms, which could cost up to $400,000 alone, Gross said. 

He said the hotel, built in 1882, is still operational and has heat, water and electricity. 

Approximately $100,000 has already been spent on the architectural plans to restore it. 

Gross said he's in contact with a few potential buyers and hopes the building will still be used to provide low-income housing support for people in need. 

CBC has reached out to the owner of the Manwin Hotel for comment.

Now that there's an opportunity to redesign the future of the space, Marion Willis, the executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, said a group of community stakeholders should come together and pencil down a plan for the Manwin.

Whether that is a viable plan or not, given the building is private property, Willis said, "the best thing that could happen to the Manwin would be if it was actually demolished." 

 "The building is in terrible shape. It has a horrible history. It seems to me that it's probably beyond redemption," she said. 

She says affordable housing units could be a solution, but she is concerned the building costs and the hotel's "hefty" price tag, when compared to its current condition, could stand in the way of future renovation projects. 

But regardless of what happens with the building, Willis said The Manwin should become an example to take action and bring Manitoba housing service organizations, property management companies and the city together to discuss how to prevent older buildings from ending in a state of disrepair. 

"We've lost an awful lot of our lower barrier housing stock and like it or not, we do need those older buildings," she said.

The executive director of an organization, which helps people struggling with addiction and homelessness near the Manwin Hotel, said he hopes the building will be used to offer mental health supports. 

"I think that would be an interesting service that could be added downtown," Peter McMullen said, who works at Lighthouse Mission. 

He said a lot of folks in the area need access to housing and food, which is available at shelters, but many people in the community have mental health challenges and need those issues addressed too. 

"I'm excited at the prospect that it can be updated and be used to serve our community better," he said.

Barb Guimond, who previously led a rally calling for the closure of the Manwin Hotel, said she's glad, because so many lives have been lost there. 

She said she's been interviewing people in the area about what they'd like to see go there instead, and hopes it can be turned into specialized shelter space.

"Something for couples, because couples aren't allowed to sleep together unless they're in a common room at 190 [Disreali]," she said. 

"One for transgender, that's one we severely need, and Two-Spirit, because they're targeted quite bad."