Winnipeg’s most iconic hotel and one of its best-known landmarks is on the market.
The owners of the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa & Conference Centre have put the famous property up for sale. The owners are Winnipeg entrepreneurs and managing partners Ida Albo and Rick Bell as well as Quebec City-based Laberge Group.
Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the property. A list price hasn’t been released but the realtor is reportedly looking for a buyer willing to pay at least $40 million.
“It’s time for a new group to take it to the next level. We’ve enjoyed success and the wonderful privilege of enhancing a landmark Winnipeg hotel but now it’s time to hand off to another team,” Albo said.
The 106-year hotel features 240 rooms over 10 storeys and a 16,000-square-foot spa, more than 33,000 square feet of meeting space, a 7,000-square-foot fitness centre and 130 parking spots.
According to local legend, the provincial and national historic site also has a ghost in Room 202. A woman apparently committed suicide in the room after hearing of the death of her husband in an automobile accident.
It was originally built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and was taken over by Canadian National Railway when it bought out Grand Trunk. The hotel’s history also includes being seized by the City of Winnipeg in a tax sale in 1987. Albo and Bell took over the hotel in the 1990s.
Cushman & Wakefield is hoping to have a new buyer, whether local, Canadian or international, take over the Fort Garry next spring.
