The City of Kenora expects to take possession of the Kenricia Hotel sometime this fall as it continues moving through the expropriation process aimed at ultimately revitalizing the historic downtown landmark.
The city’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Stace Gander said the next step is for the city to register its plan of expropriation, a move that would formally transfer title of the property into the city’s name. The city is currently finalizing details before filing the plan. Once registered, the process will move into the next phase.
“We’re hoping to have things completed in around the early October time frame,” Gander recently told the Miner and News, adding that the city’s schedule currently targets Oct. 15 for taking possession of the building.
The timeline comes as Kenora prepares for municipal elections later this year. Council recently delegated authority to Gander and his fellow senior administrative staff at City Hall to continue advancing the project, a move intended to prevent delays if council enters lame-duck status — something they are already one step closer to, following the May resignation of former Coun. Barbara Manson.
Gander said the project will continue according to the timeline already approved by council, even if elected officials lose decision-making authority during the election period.
“Council cannot provide direction at that point; they’ve already provided their direction, so that gives myself and the deputy the authority to proceed and make those decisions on behalf of council,” Gander explained.
Beyond acquiring the property, the city’s next major milestone will be launching a request for proposals (RFP) to identify a developer capable of rehabilitating the building.
Once the expropriation plan is registered, the city can begin accepting proposals. Gander said prospective developers will likely be given about 60 days to submit proposals before staff begin evaluations and due diligence. While no firm timeline has been established for selecting a developer, he said the city wants to ensure the process is thorough.
“It’s important that we take the appropriate amount of time because we want to make sure that we get it right,” Gander said.
As for visible progress on the building, residents may have to wait a little longer before seeing construction crews at work.
Gander said while he would like to see construction begin by December in a best-case scenario, permitting requirements and other preparations make that unlikely. Instead, it may be more likely that the work in question will begin sometime in 2027.
“Likely we will not see shovels in the ground, so to speak, in 2026, but we would start to see securing the site for construction purposes, hopefully in late 2026,” Gander said.
The city began pursuing expropriation of Kenricia last year, arguing intervention was necessary to preserve and restore the prominent Main Street property. Earlier this spring, the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) found the expropriation was “fair, sound and reasonably necessary” for the purposes of community improvement and heritage rehabilitation.
Gander said expropriation was not a decision the city took lightly.
“Expropriation is the last step for a city to take,” he said. “We are only doing that because, despite our efforts, we feel we haven’t been able to see the amount of investment the building really needs to restore it.”
By Pam Fedack, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jun 08, 2026 at 16:10
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