St. Charles Hotel owner meets city deadline

Ken Zaifman was required to make upgrades or have city take over historic property

Image | St. Charles Hotel

Caption: The St. Charles Hotel, built in 1913, has been vacant since 2008. (Google Street View)

The City of Winnipeg will not take over the historic St. Charles Hotel after all.
The 100-year-old building, located in the Exchange District at the corner of Albert Street and Notre Dame Avenue, has been vacant since 2008.

Image | St. Charles Hotel

Caption: The St. Charles Hotel is shown in better days in this undated postcard. (University of Alberta archives)

Over the past year, the owner of the hotel, Ken Zaifman, had been given a number of deadlines to bring the hotel up to safety standards.
The city confirms Zaifman has now done what is required, specifically installing a sprinkler system, and the city will no longer take title to the hotel.
Zaifman, an immigration lawyer, has long said he wants to turn the four-storey building into a boutique hotel.
He has not said when he hopes to have that happen.