Winnipeg Free Press

A year after city council stopped a plan to demolish one of Winnipeg's oldest structures, the owner of the St. Charles Hotel is again seeking permission to level the Exchange District building known as the Albert Street Business Block. Ken Zaifman, an immigration lawyer who's spending $10 million renovating the once-tony St. Charles, wants to add a restaurant extension to the north side of his hotel. He wants to replace 38 Albert Street -- a dilapidated structure between the St. Charles and the Royal Albert Arms -- with a patio, as well as a parking lot. In January 2007, Zaifman sought permission to demolish the 3,000-square-foot business block, a two-storey structure comprised of a 131-year-old house attached to storefronts built in 1941. But city councillors decided against placing another surface lot in the Exchange National Historic Site and conferred heritage status on the business block, sparing it from the wrecking ball in the process. Now, Zaifman is back with a parking-lot plan he hopes will be more acceptable to Heritage Winnipeg, Parks Canada and the Exchange District BIZ.