Ahsanul Habib on mission of restoration with the Royal Edward Arms

THUNDER BAY -- Ahsanul Habib wants to restore the Royal Edward Arms to its former glory.

On Monday, city council approved the sale of the May Street building to Habib Architects for $500,000 with the deed being turned over to Habib in June.

In December 2012, Habib unveiled his vision for the downtown south core, outlining the potential in historical buildings like the Royal Edward Arms, which was built in 1928.

“This is one of the landmark buildings I want to try to reconstruct it to give it its former glory and preserve the building,” he said Tuesday afternoon.

Designated a heritage building, there are restriction on what Habib can do to the exterior, but he has big plans for the interior.

The ground floor of the building is going to be used as commercial space and Habib sees it being used for a restaurant or coffee shop like it was in the past – but with a modern look.

“It has to be new. It has to be modern to make my business plan work,” he said.

“It has to be successful as a business in order to allow me to do it.”

The current 64 residential units in the building will be turned into up to 86 up-to-date extended-stay suites. Whether they become rental units or hotel suites will be determined by future market studies, said Habib.

When negotiating with the city, they didn’t just look at his bid, but also his plan and how it would help the downtown.

He also committed to construction timelines.

As soon as he takes ownership of the building, construction will begin, said Habib.

He expects the project to be completed within two years.