TRUWinnipeg.org

Word from pharma-tycoon Daren Jorgenson via his Protect the Heritage Buildings Facebook group is that the Albert Street business block, and with it the 129-year old house behind the storefronts, is about to fall victim to another dirty demolition scheme.

The Ken Hong owner has received notice to vacate the Albert Street Business Block so that the owner can tear it down.

Putatively, this is to “add value” to the adjacent St. Charles hotel—providing parking facilities once it reopens with boutique status.

Unfortunately, the moron developer doesn’t see that, as is, a row of 1920s storefronts behind downtown’s second-oldest house has more commercial and aesthetic value than anything his puny imagination could conjure. Try going to New York or any city with a sidewalk culture and you’ll see ghetto spots like Ken Hong’s next to $500-a-night hotels. For all you know Louis Vuitton might open up in there five years after your top hotel does. If you have such faith in your own building why not the neighbors’?

Fact is, there’s plenty of parking—street, garage, and surface—around that hotel without punching another hole in the streetscape. Don’t be a rube, Zaifman—restrain yourself from the urge to destroy useful structures.

Why did the city change its mind? Did a few transfers of funds make the difference?

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