The city’s public service is urging the property and development committee to deny an appeal made by the Manwin Hotel’s owner to allow tenants back into the building.
In early January, the committee issued a vacate order to 34 residents of the notorious Main Street hotel amid multiple outstanding permit requirements and compliance orders.
The hotel’s owner, Akim Kambamba, appealed the order and a hearing is scheduled before the committee on Feb. 10.
The building’s issues date back to 2017 when the city discovered the hotel’s 24 units had been subdivided into 34 units without proper permits, electrical work or inspections, a report says.
Several of the building’s original units were split up using partition walls and new doorways were built to separate the units, the report states.
In 2021, the department again issued compliance orders that were supposed to be completed by April 29, 2022, but went unfulfilled.
The department said in the report it has “shown extreme patience in waiting for the owner to bring the property into compliance.”
“There has been seven-plus years where the owner will do just enough work to demonstrate some forward progress in the permitting process. Meanwhile, there remains significant deficiencies and a lack of actual progress to bring the property into bylaw and code compliance,” the report says.
The hotel’s owner also owes the city more than $200,000 in penalties and fines for the shoddy work.
In January, Kambamba told the Free Press the vacancy order was issued due to a fire escape that was not up to code.
City spokesman Kalen Qually would not comment on the property ahead of next week’s hearing.
Following a fire in a bathroom of the hotel in December, the city’s planning, property and development department ordered tenants vacate the premises no later than Jan. 17.
Kambamba couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
The 143-year-old hotel has been the subject of violence, drug use and multiple homicides over the years and agencies and advocates have called for its closure. It was shut down by the province in February 2021 due to the building having no heat or water.
Kambamba blames nearby Main Street Project’s homeless shelter for the state of the building.
In a letter attached to the appeal report, the hotel owner said those who are turned away from the shelter come to the Manwin to sleep or stay warm and often do damage to suites and bathrooms.
Akim pointed to a freedom of information request that showed Winnipeg Police Service dispatches to 637 Main St. (Main Street Project shelter) went to 1,583 in 2023 from 35 in 2020.
The property was vacant for the majority of 2020 until Main Street Project opened the doors to its 120-bed shelter on Dec. 18.
The same data show WPS dispatches to the Manwin at 655 Main St. stayed consistent throughout the years — 469 in 2023 and 401 in 2020.
Kambamba wrote he doesn’t bring in enough money to make the constant repairs to the building.
“Many of these people are homeless looking for shelter after being turned away from the Main Street project and other shelters when these facilities are full to capacity, especially in the winter. They are outside always causing damage to our property and the other buildings usually by breaking our windows and doors. We are constantly fixing all the damages,” Kambamba wrote.
The owner requested the vacate order be lifted to generate revenue that could be put back in the hotel in order to complete the outstanding orders.
The latest inspection report says areas of concern include overall life, safety and livability conditions, mechanical (heating/cooling/plumbing), electrical, structural, fire separation requirements and egress paths.
In his letter, Kambamba claims all needed repairs are being actively addressed and will be completed on schedule for inspection.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Lawsuit to be pushed forward without a full trial
Main Street Project’s lawsuit against the neighbouring Manwin Hotel’s owners over claims of water damage will be decided without a full trial.
Main Street Project filed its lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench in November 2023, alleging the slope of the hotel roof allowed rain water and melting ice to fall onto its office and emergency shelter, and had caused damage to its property as a result.
The shelter alleged the owner of the Manwin, at 655 Main St., had not taken any action, such as installing gutters, to mitigate the problem so its basement was damaged by repeated episodes of flooding.
The initial statement of claim, filed by Taylor McCaffrey LLP, sought an injunction to restrain the owner of the Manwin from diverting water from its roof onto Main Street Project’s roof, $50,000 in aggravated damages and other damages to be proven at trial, as well as court costs.
In pre-trial memos, Court of King’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier said the claims at issue can be decided on through summary judgment, which would consist of a half-day court appearance, slated for May, rather than through a full trial.
“In particular, the issues raised in the statement of claim are narrow: whether at 655 Main St. causes rain water and snow melt to be diverted or discharged directly on to the adjoining property at 637 Main St., and if so, are there any damages that result, and if so, what is the appropriate quantum,” said Chartier in an August memo following a pre-trial conference earlier in the summer.
“While this will entail considering expert evidence, it is not a complex issue and there are no obvious credibility issues that arise.”
Chartier also said hearing a counterclaim filed by the hotel’s owner against Main Street Project should proceed to trial later, as its related to a “completely different issue.”
The owner alleged the shelter’s services and harm-reduction work hurts the hotel’s bottom line in the counterclaim, filed early last year.
— Erik Pindera
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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