On the historic banks of the Red River, a new hotel, restaurant take root
The Mere Hotel and Cibo Waterfront Cafe represent the latest chapter in the birth, decay and renewal of Winnipeg’s Waterfront Drive
The $13-million Mere Hotel on Waterfront Drive is representative of recent urban renewal projects along the Red River in Winnipeg.
Opened in 2013 and developed by Sunstone Resort Communities, the modernist three-storey boutique hotel is booked through most of the summer.
Sunstone CEO Bill Coady says Winnipeg’s Waterfront District, on the northeastern edge of downtown, has come a long way in the past decade. ‘No one was thinking of putting a hotel here 10 years ago,’ he says.
Map of Waterfront Drive. The Mere Hotel is located across the road from “J.”
The interior of the boutique hotel features contemporary, high-tech decor. Geothermal heating, a plug-in station for electric cars, and a large interactive information touchscreen in the lobby add to the cutting-edge atmosphere.
The hotel stands in contrast to the adjacent restaurant – the Cibo Waterfront Cafe – which is housed in an old pump house. That property traded hands many times before Sunstone took it over and developed the $1-million café. The establishments are located near the region’s first fur trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Co.
The 95-seat Cibo is busy with local traffic and tourists, particularly on weekends. It and the Mere Hotel owe much of their success to the rebirth of the adjoining historic neighbourhood, Mr. Coady says. Read the full story at the link below: Hard-won urban renewal on Red River waterfront.David Lipnowski