A landmark Thunder Bay building has been sold to an award-winning local architect whose forte is restoring old buildings.
On Jan. 26, Thunder Bay city council authorized the sale of the Royal Edward Arms building in the city’s south end business core to Ahsanul Habib of Habib Architects for $500,000.
The building, located on May Street in the city’s south-end business core, was marketed through an expression of interest and request for proposals process last November after the Thunder Bay District Housing Corporation announced it would not be renewing its lease for the building.
Habib was the successful proponent and has entered into a conditional agreement of purchase and sale with the city.
He intends to make major renovations to the eight-storey, 64-unit heritage building for mixed commercial and residential uses. The city said the purchase price was the “highest offer received and is also reflective of the required investment to the building.”
“Since this is a historic building, the City had been seeking a buyer who is interested in restoring the building and adding value to the downtown south core,” said Joel DePeuter, manager of realty services. “We are pleased that this agreement has been reached.”
The agreement is conditional on Habib reaching certain construction milestones.
His firm has won awards from the Ontario Heritage Trust, Ontario Wood Works and a Northern Ontario Business Award in 2010 where Habib was recognized for his work in preserving heritage buildings in Thunder Bay and repurposing them for new uses.
Constructed of reinforced concrete as a hotel in 1928, the “Royal Eddie” was purchased by the municipality in 1981 for $165,000 when the hotel was in financial distress and was intended to be used as a police station. It was leased to Thunder Bay Non Profit Housing, now Thunder Bay District Housing Corporation, from 1985 to 2015.
In recent year, the building’s residents suffered through a bed bug infestation problem along with other building deficiencies and breakdowns.
‘This agreement shows that the City is serious about preserving our history and historical buildings, properties and sites,’ said Councillor Larry Hebert, a member of the city’s heritage advisory committee. “It is great that we have found a buyer who will restore the building.”
