'It’s night and day': Balmoral Hotel gets makeover for medical patients

One of the Winnipeg core’s infamous hotels is getting a makeover to serve as a space for people attending medical appointments in the city.

Work has been underway for the past three months to improve the Balmoral Hotel, as crews work to clean, rebuild and refurbish the space.

“We saw lots of potential in this,” said Kam Khaira, new co-owner of the Balmoral Hotel. “There is a lot of potential in this neighbourhood, in this space, and we can see how much difference we could make.”

While the hotel looks similar on the outside, the inside is a different story.

“It’s night and day completely,” said Desiree McIvor with 1JustCity

When the new owners got possession of the Balmoral Hotel, the first task was evicting unwanted guests like rodents and cockroaches.

"It had a very bad infestation,” said project manager Antonio Pisano. “So to put a program in place, there was no point in putting in a system that would work on the outside and not the inside and so what we did was, we went from stud to stud for multiple units here."

In essence, everything was torn out and rebuilt brand new, with new floors, carpets, beds and other items.

“It was neglected for enough years that you needed to start from scratch,” Pisano said.

“People are coming here for healing, for medical issues,” said Khaira. “So we want to provide them an environment they can feel better and get better.”

Two floors of the building are already complete, and a new space for medical patients and low-income residents has emerged.

“It's clean, it's inviting, and it's a safe welcoming space for all community members,” said McIvor.

“The feedback is great. The food is fantastic,” Pisano said. “They brought in some great chefs, some great cooks, and we’re doing everything from a new wellness centre to a daycare, so it's going to be quite the facility.”