The City of Kamloops will demolish the former Northbridge Hotel on Tranquille Road now that all of its former tenants are out.

In a statement released Monday, it says city council unanimously authorized the demolition of the building at at 377 Tranquille Road back on Dec. 13, 2022, directing staff to develop a request for proposals for the property’s redevelopment.

This after the City bought the hotel and the adjacent property at 346 Campbell Avenue for $7.1 million in October 2021,with plans to redevelop the building into market housing, which is expected to happen “at a future date.”

“The demolition of this building is positive change for this area,” Deputy Mayor, Dale Bass, said, in the statement. “We look forward to realizing the development potential of this key site to bring more market housing to this neighbourhood.”

Speaking on NL Newsday, Bass says that demolition work is expected to take place early this year.

“Oh, it is not renovatable at all,” she said of the building.

“Subsequent to the city purchasing it, there was a significant amount of damage and vandalism done to the building. It is old. It has asbestos. My understanding from staff who have toured it is that it is completely infested with bed bugs. It is literally like a Hazmat situation. It is an old building. It hasn’t been cared for.”

She says a Request for Proposal for the sale of the building is being prepared by city staff, who will then publish it to BC Bid inviting developers to bid on the project.

“We have specific parameters that we want to see done there. We want to see affordable market market housing,” Bass said.

“We don’t want to see four figure rental condos in there. I have to believe that there are developers out there who are going to buy into the push that you are going to see from us in this council term to quit building million dollar houses that people can’t afford.”

As for what the demolition work will cost Bass said she had “no idea” noting it would cost “a lot of money” owing to the expensive nature of asbestos removal

“Are details about that still not finalized because I imagine that you must have had something that allowed you to do a cost benefit, like you must have had some idea what its going to cost?” NL Newsday host Brett Mineer asked.

“Oh sure, but some of the information that we were presented in our closed meeting is not public yet,” Bass said.

In its statement, the City says the decision to demolish the existing building is “with the intent to appeal to a broader development market, decrease liability associated with the vacant building, and improve the safety and general aesthetic of the area.”

“Following the demolition, the City will be issuing a request for proposals for the property’s redevelopment,” it said.

“The 30,000 sq. ft. site is located within the Tranquille Market Corridor, which supports a diverse mix of residential, commercial, and community uses. The City will outline specific parameters for the redevelopment to meet the community’s needs. More details will be provided once the request for proposals has been developed.”

At the time of the sale, the Northbridge Hotel – which houses the Duchess nightclub – was home to 54 people who were living in 51 rooms.

“Knowing the City’s intent was to redevelop the property, staff worked with ASK Wellness and BC Housing throughout the last year to help find suitable alternative housing for the tenants. Many tenants were rehoused with local non-profit housing providers or in market accommodation,” the statement added.

While no plans have been released publicly, NL News has learned that BC Housing has already bought the property at 346 Campbell Avenue with plans to turn it into a six storey, 80 unit building.

Those plans are expected to be released in the next month or so.