UCL SETS DATE FOR FIGHTS PAGE 5 merrittherald.com
FRESH TAKE ON FOOD BANK PAGE 8
CENTS CAMP OPENS MONDAY PAGE 20
Nicola Valley’s News Voice Since 1905
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MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2013 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
New owners look to future of Coldwater Hotel On invitation from the owners of the Coldwater Hotel (see page 7), Herald editor Emily Wessel took a tour through the historic building with co-owner John Allison to see what’s new behind its 108-year-old doors. On the outside, the Coldwater Hotel at the corner of Voght Street and Quilchena Avenue might look imposing to some, but inside the 100-plus-year-old building, it’s not just a hotel. It’s a home, and there’s a family inside. Mel will celebrate his three-year anniversary as a tenant there this October, while Paul, who also works at the Old Barley Market beer and wine store, has already passed the three-year mark in his high-ceilinged corner suite, complete with picture window. The room is airy and open, even at the stormy peak of Monday’s fickle weather. Across the hall, Jamie has lived at the hotel on and off for eight years. He also works as the floor manager to keep his eye out for “anything going on that shouldn’t be going on.” “We’re one hundred and eight years old and I’ve been here for a hundred of them,” he laughed. Down in the bar, patron Lorne has called the Coldwater Hotel home for 26 years. These tenants share
M E R R I T T Independently owned and operated
REAL ESTATE LISTINGS INSIDE Ph: 250-378-6181 1988 Quilchena Ave.
more than just a building; there’s a sense of pride among them for their historic home. And, as with any apartment building, each suite is kept in as neat or messy condition as the person who lives there chooses. “Of course, if it’s too messy, then we’ll step in,” hotel co-owner John Allison said. In the hallway, the wear and tear on the carpet and walls is not surprising for a building of the Coldwater Hotel’s age, nor does it seem to weigh heavily on any of those tenants’ minds. The pace of life is a fairly relaxed one, as evidenced by occasional jazz riff wafting out of one of the suites, punctuated by the quiet counting of three people playing a game of cribbage. At $400 a month, the Coldwater Hotel rents suites monthly for among the lowest rates in town. “We’re actually doing the town a service,” Allison said. “Some of these people would be on the streets if we didn’t have this place.” Tenants get a comfortably heated and cooled room with a bed, stove and other furnishings, and one thing they didn’t count on: a kind of camaraderie with one another and hotel staff. Allison and Marla Reed, his wife of 11
LE ON SA ! NOW
The Coldwater Hotel stands tall at the corner or Voght Street and Quilchena Avenue. Emily Wessel/Herald
years, took over the hotel in March and although the to-do list is long, they say changes inside the historic building are well underway. In the first month-
and-a-half, the proprietary pair evicted undesirable tenants, bringing their occupancy from full to about 50 to 60 per cent. However, they said they’ve got four or five people on the wait-
ing list while they get the rooms ready. Meanwhile, they’ve put thousands of dollars into upgrading the hotel’s systems to make things run more efficiently for them and
their 33 employees. Eventually, Allison said they’d like to renovate the suites inside, but only being six months into ownership, he knows that will take time.
AIR CONDITIONERS HELPING YOU KEEP YOUR COOL
Both Reed and Allison have plenty of experience in the hospitality industry, especially in the Merritt area.
See ‘Tenants’ Page 3
Home hardware
WHEN IT COUNTS building centre Starting at
$149.97
Locally Owned & Operated
1701 Voght St., Merritt, B.C. www.merritt homehardware.ca