Sherbrook Inn and Vendor Closed

The announcement that Sherbook Inn had closed their vendor and lounge in the last weeks has been met by stony silence from the owners. The pawnshop and other businesses located in the building have as much information as the public does. The Tallest Poppy closed sometime ago.

The hotel sits in an area that has seen some spark of business but for decades, it has been the proximity to violence and perhaps even the source of problems in the area. It remains a question of whether parts of the neighbourhood are the problem or the hotel is the problem. Perhaps they feed off each other.

In the 1990s the area was suffering over a good part of the west end. Arson was a major problem as was rooming house murders. The hotel itself was scene of a murder back then and the reputation was a rough one. Since then we have seen part of Sherbrook and Maryland have new housing built, assisted living by the hospital and some new restaurants and shops.

The last few years have seen a return of arsons and nearby there were four people killed in a shooting. In another recent murder, the victim's truck was found in the hotel parking lot. The possible killer died after a police interaction. Drugs and alcohol have always played havoc in Manitoba. The harder drugs are hurting the entire continent. 

The province has been very slow on supporting rehab programs and supportive housing. Mental health supports have been just as challenging. The one thing that people in the West End all seem to agree on is that the Sherbrook Hotel has been scary and despite the efforts of some in the community to put wrestling in and Tallest Poppy, it has gotten worse, not better. 

The Free Press article ripping Sherbrook was one of utter contempt and disgust. The big question is: Will this compel the owners to sell? And if they sold, would it be another hotel operator to own it? At this point, the building may not be worth anything whereas the land might be. There is potential to turn this site into something that might enhance retail on Sherbook as well as provide housing. There have already been a few hosing projects along Sherbrook as well as Maryland that show developers are interesting in investing.

One thing for certain is that each block of an area has to be part of the solution to a vital neighbourhood. If the hotel is a no go zone then whatever success you have near the hotel or across from it is blunted by the feeling of danger.  A hotel by itself doesn't have to be a bad thing. The Osborne Village had at times been a vital part of the business and culture of the area. It remains to be seen whether its demolition and what is coming will contribute to a real street life presence on Osborne. Perhaps with some of the developments down the street, we might see Osborne be reborn again. But the rent for commercial and residential people has to be more sensible.

The backlash against high costs has hit even McDonald's which has taken hits for $3 hash browns in the U.S. The company has declared they will be looking at the affordability issue. This was major news worldwide as the CEO said the complaints have the company looking at this issue. This can be said of so many industries where they have kept increasing prices.

It is always somewhat amazing sometimes that commercial space goes unrented for so long. One of those reasons often is that some owners refuse to sell or bring down the price or subdivide. It will be interesting to see if the owners of the hotel will sell it as a hotel or for the land. Or maybe the wait goes on forever as we sometimes see. 

As with the 1990s, Wolsely is on the edge on either a slide downward or a turn for the better. In the past, a revival of property values, people investing in property and security, a downturn in crime helped west of Maryland become a favoured community to own a house and some businesses thrived. The hotel closure and something new happening on the land might help change things extending down Sherbrook and spread to surrounding streets.

At the moment no one knows what's happening. It can be a slow burn of empty properties just siting and doing nothing. Even on major roads like Portage Avenue it is surprising how many places remain idle year after year. Former hotels have been converted at the Clarion and now the Balmoral for medical visits from the north. By all appearances they seem to be a practical solution for a need that is growing with an aging population. In Minneapolis, some older hotels have been converted for local income housing for those who have been homeless.

The mayor and the premier have both said they want faster solutions to the housing crisis in our region. An old hotel on Sherbrook might be what is needed.

Sherbrook Street - Element Condo

The Element Condo - Sherbrook Street (above is what it will look like, below is what it was)

There was a little grocery store with a house behind it at Sherbrook and Sara. As befitting of what had been happening to the neighbourhood as recently as just a few years ago, it had roll down barriers for the windows. There were a number of rental houses as well heading towards the bridge. Rooming house territory. Absentee landlords. Properties that were slowly running down.

Sherbrook Street has always been a mix of residential, retail and business services. It is not a bad mix. In fact, it is the best kind you can have. The problem is that the residential component was literally falling apart. In the 1990s, prices of homes in the area were stagnant or declined. Actual deflation was taking place. 

The streets just east to Sherbrook were battling murder, arson, break and enters and vandalism. It wasn't unusual to walk down Young, Langside or Furby to find boarded up housing and police tape. 

Even Sherbrook was marked by massage parlours and pawn shops and it was only a few years back that a business owner of one of the shops was beaten badly.

And still through it all, a few shops and restaurants and businesses held on. It helped that Wolseley tenaciously resisted slipping down the road of no return. People there stubbornly held onto home ownership and lovingly kept their places up. These same people also liked to patronize local restaurants and businesses.

Still, this was not enough during the dismal times and restaurants like Acropolis closed and now are occupied by a social agency.

The building of the a four story Element condo where the old store and houses stood off of Sara and Sherbrook suddenly acts as a game changer. While house prices have upgraded all over the neighbourhood and local home ownership has strengthened, there are still large tracts of property both residential and commercial that require major upgrades or in worst case scenarios, demolition to begin again.

The Sandu Properties development increases the density of the area, raises the tax base as well as the property values of both homes and businesses in the area. There are a few businesses across the street, a few low profile, that will become extremely lucrative now. A neighbourhood garden in an empty lots might be too tempting for further developers, nothwithstanding neighbourhood protests. 

However, I have to ask, would a garden plot make sense in the building destroyed by fire a years back in Osborne Village? The answer is no. Sadly, the city did not hold out for a better development for the fire in that end of town and only a one story retail strip was built.

Sherbrook and Maryland are long streets compared to Osborne. Multi-story buildings of residential, office and retail should be encouraged. The Element is the right size for the neighbourhood and despite the fears that had someone spray paint "Grentification" (sic) on the sign out front, I would put it out there that it was far worse to let the houses that stood on the site slip into further decay.

It is important to have a good strategy for affordable housing for Manitoba. To that end, the worst landlord in the city is the Manitoba government. That can be argued for another time. However, at present, there are plenty of lower income option for the area, not a lot of higher income ones.

To be certain there are a lot of things happening on Sherbrook, a little less on Maryland but that is bound to change.

I don't immediately foresee some of the problems that we have seen happen on Corydon. Much of that has resulted from a preponderance of restaurants, patios and licenced establishments. However, the prospect of parking and the like could come up in the not too distant future.

This is a good news story so far and we could stand to see some more.

The Changes in Wolseley/West Broadway 5

Woodrow Place in Wolseley --- Priced at $595,00 to $695,000


Brother can you spare a dime? 


The first brownstone in Winnipeg and without doubt, the most expensive condos ever in to be built in Wolseley. Construction will start off Maryland along the Assiniboine River on Woodrow Place once pre-sales targets are met. Mulvey School sits across from the site. 

At the moment, five rental bungalow's sit on the site.


Fresh Projects Design Builders are the developers of the site and they say that there is demand for higher end condos in established neighbourhoods. Undoubtedly, this is true. I can imagine that someone selling a large riverside house in the Wolseley area might seriously consider such a condo rather than moving out of the area.


Some of the higher end prices we are seeing in Wolseley for homes are reaching $500,000., some up to $600,000. Thoughts that the granola belt was all lower priced homes, rooming houses and rentals should be dismissed out of hand.


There are some people deeply concerned with wealthy people moving into the neighbourhood. They shouldn't be. The best neighbourhoods are a mix of people and a mix of uses. A condo complex along this street raises the density over single family dwellings. It is a shame rental houses are lost but at the same time, it is important to constantly rehabilitate housing stock. We have seen what long term absentee ownership has done to some rental houses over time and it isn't pretty.


Ten years ago, we were very close to seeing some parts of the Sherbrook and Maryland Street areas becoming completely undesirable for housing or business. Some fires left gaps where houses once stood. There were rooming houses, rentals and massage parlours all along both streets. Violence was happening along the street around the hotel and some businesses. The prospects felt grim.


In 2007, a fire at Westminster and Sherbrook took out an older apartment block with some small businesses on the ground floor. It was rather sad and many thought the block would remain empty. It now has Stellla's and other restaurants on the site and that corner. 

Additional condos are all going up all along the street.

There is a new excitement in the area and it has built steadily over the last five or six years. 

No one be surprised if this area starts to bubble up and surpass Osborne Village in the next years. It is happening before our eyes.

The changes in Wolseley/West Broadway area Part 4

187 Balmoral Street converted house

I wrote about the West Broadway area some time ago. House prices in the area have risen dramatically. This has caused some people in the area to consider upgrades and investments that they might not have considered when prices were static or even in decline in the 1990s.

There were many streets for years that were outright dangerous and some properties that were dens of drug activity and violence. The streets between Portage Avenue and Broadway were plain scary at times.

There are still problem areas but some developers are trying to re-claim streets one house at a time. One such house is at 187 Balmoral Street. The Free Press reported this development being on the south side of Broadway when in fact it is on the northside.

The building was reclaimed from a fire in 2009. The prices for the one and two bedroom units are decidedly upscale but then the location is within walking distance of the legislature and Great West Life building.

Is it possible that this area might be transformed to the status it had in the 1920s? This isn't a bad assumption since it is one of the closest intact neighbourhoods to our downtown.

Look to see more of the house here being converted, restored, upgraded and re-claimed.

This won't be happening for every neighbourhood close to the downtown but this particular area is ripe for change as it is close to Armstrong Point, Wolseley and the changes happening along Sherbrook and Maryland Streets.

The changes in Wolseley/West Broadway area Part 1

Northern Crown Bank, Portage Avenue and Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, circa 1979, now demolished. Note Carter Motors next door. The site now occupied by McDonald's. Source.

The area I am talking about specifically is the Sherbrook/Maryland corridor between Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River.

This particular strip is a mixture of houses, retail and other businesses and services.

On the south of Portage Avenue, Carter Motors occupied a choice spot for nearly 60 years. The company was eventually taken over by Murray Chev Olds and remained there until 1999 when it moved to the suburbs and Bishop Grandin.

The departure of the dealership opened up a large chunk of land on Portage. It seemed that this would be a rare opportunity to do something unique on a grand scale. Instead, the development plan was a page right out of suburbia. The focus became one that targeted commuters and had little curbside appeal for the pedestrians or people who actually lived in the neighborhood.

In short, the land was divvied up amongst big box stores.

The old Carter Motors site, which during it heyday had cars lined up facing Portage with streamers blowing across its open space, was one of a few car dealers on the southside.

So what eventually went up on the Carter Motors site?

Well, presently the old lot has a Pharma Plus built on it. This store replaces a smaller pharmacy nearer to Misercordia Hospital. The new store on Portage has a post office as well as a doctor's office attached to it. It represents an improvement in service to the area not withstanding the large parking lot which acts like a wind tunnel in around the building.

McDonald's Restaurants moved west from their location near the University of Winnipeg in favour of a smaller restaurant on the corner at Sherbrook and Portage. Behind it, a Winnipeg-based restaurant Palatal Express also along Sherbrook. A Tim Horton's occupied a space behind the Pharma Plus along Maryland.

The parking lot by all accounts is not easy to get in and out of. Many Tim Horton's customers cause traffic disruptions trying to access the drive-throughs. It probably doesn't help either that there seems to be a steady flow of student traffic jaywalking across the street from Gordon Bell School.

Gordon Bell is the main high school in the area and has a daycare center with students with children. There are numerous immigrant and aboriginal children who attend the school. The school has occupied the location on Borrowman street alongside Maryland since 1958. Older Winnipeg residents will know that the site is the former location of Mulvey school. Gordon Bell extends all the way back to Broadway.

Along the northside of Broadway is city office and police sub-station. The sub-station used to be a Salisbury House, The city office used to distribute social assistance checks. Heading back up Sherbrook on the west side was a few businesses. At one time, a gay social club occupied an unmarked building. A travel agency shared the same site. The east side of Sherbrook has had Thomson Funeral Chapel as its anchor for decades. Just north of that is West Region Child and Family Service offices.

So, has there been an improvement in this block with some of the recent changes?

The short answer is yes and no. For the commuter, another Tim Horton's on the way to and from work is a happy addition. Likewise, the new location for McDonald's is easier for cars to get in and out of as opposed to the one closer to the University of Winnipeg.

It is more a sideways move getting rid of a car lot for a big box paradise.

One again local people and pedestrians get the short stick.