McLaren Hotel owners granted delay on heritage designation decision

The owners of Winnipeg's McLaren Hotel have won a 60-day reprieve from having the 109-year-old Main Street building added to the city's list of historical resources.

It was among eight downtown properties considered for some kind of historical protection at the city's property and planning committee on Wednesday. 

In at least one case — the Leadley Building at 306/310 Ross Ave., just west of Princess Street — the owners were able to convince councillors, and the city's property and planning staff, to allow some alterations to the exterior of the building and accepted the proposed heritage status.

The owners of the McLaren, meanwhile — who previously opposed heritage designation for the hotel at the corner of Main Street and Rupert Avenue — made a case for a collaborative venture with the city.

Rubi Gill and his family engaged former Transcona councillor Russ Wyatt to help make their case to the committee.

Joined by Wyatt, Gill asked the committee Wednesday to defer the heritage designation for the hotel — constructed in 1910 — and start a discussion about a partnership that could potentially redevelop the building.

It was Wyatt's first official appearance at city hall since charges of sexual assault against him were dropped last June. Wyatt, who did not run for re-election last fall after serving as Transcona's councillor for 16 years, says he is a personal friend of the Gill family, who have owned the building for the last 17 years.

"We are requesting a partnership. We should be working together," Wyatt told the committee.

He listed several buildings, including the Bell Hotel, Union Building and Ryan Block, where various levels of government have worked on improving the properties and found new uses for them.

Gill told the councillors his family has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars maintaining the building and would spend more money on it in the future.

"We want to do the right thing," Gill said.

He said his earlier opposition to the historical designation "was more emotional," but that he now sees an opportunity to partner with the city, and perhaps refurbish the building as subsidized or low-income housing.

'Have to be flexible': Heritage Winnipeg

Heritage Winnipeg's Cindy Tugwell says there has to be give-and-take between the city and property owners so the buildings can be maintained, but remain viable.

"We have to be flexible as a city.… Without revenue, how can you protect the buildings?" Tugwell said.

Debate over what the designation means and concerns over how to pay for restoration have caused 90 per cent of building owners in the last three years to fight against having their properties declared historical, she said.

That echoes the what several building owners themselves have said about the heritage status process with the city.

Some councillors on the committee had questions that push into the heart of what is or isn't "historical."

"Age doesn't doesn't necessarily equate to historical.… I had a '75 Gremlin and it wasn't exactly a historic vehicle," said Kevin Klein, the councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood.

"Perhaps we should move from 'historical' to 'commemorative' designations for some buildings?"

Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukes said there appears to be a misconception it will cost much more to care for a heritage property, which scares owners from accepting the designation.

"Every time they come [to the committee] they are fearful, they are afraid," Lukes said.

Tugwell says a better understanding of what the heritage designation means for building owners is important. 

She says Winnipeg will see a focus on its own stock of historically significant buildings in October, when a conference of the National Trust — an annual conference held in association with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals — comes to the city.

It's expected 400 to 500 delegates, from historians and architects to building owners, will converge on the city to talk about the challenges of preserving old structures and success stories from across the country.