Queen's Hotel. (Destination Battleford)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Historic Building

Historic Queen’s Hotel in Battleford set to be demolished

Aug 23, 2023 | 5:00 PM

One of Saskatchewan’s oldest buildings will soon be demolished.

The Town of Battleford’s council has approved sending a notice to the owners of the Queen’s Hotel to officially tear down the structure.

Ryan Mackrell, the community planner for the town, explained they’ve received a lot of complaints from residents about how unsafe the property and building have become.

“It’s becoming derelict, an eyesore, and a danger to our community,” he said.

It was officially built back in the 1880s. It was originally used as office space for local doctors and lawyers before becoming a hotel in 1889.

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Queen’s Hotel back in 1901. (Helen and Glenn Kayfish)

At one point, it was the oldest operating hotel in Saskatchewan. It has since been closed to the public.

The Town has since sent the property owners several orders to bring the property back up to code. However, each was ignored, and the Town Contractor was forced to deal with the matter.

“The owners have left the property, seemingly walked away from it,” said Mackrell.

If the property owners don’t follow through with the demolition notice then the Town can step in and do it alone. At this time, it’s not publicly known how long they plan on waiting.

If the Town does the demolition, the costs will be covered by property tax revenue. Mackrell added it would be quite expensive as crews would most likely have to deal with asbestos due to the building’s age.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow