The Northern Lites Motel has a new owner in the form of Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce president Rob Warburton.

Warburton, who was in talks with the then-owner of the motel for several months, officially took over the business on July 4.

He said he acquired the motel as another step in SA国际影视传媒渞evitalizing downtown.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檝e been a big advocate, both personally and to the chamber there, for revitalizing downtown,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚 worked a lot with the city on the zoning to get higher density, and, really, just like my entire business is about using what we have.

SA国际影视传媒淭hen this opportunity came up and it seemed like a great way to put those things into into practice, trying to find a new light for a second life for downtown property. I thought that was pretty interesting,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Warburton is also addressing some of the housing crunch that Yellowknife is facing while also attempting to assist construction crews working on ongoing projects around the city. In its current form, the motel has 26 suites in total, but it remains unclear at this time if that number will change after his renovation work is completed.

SA国际影视传媒淪o we got the pool, we got AVENs happening, we have Giant Mines wrapping up here,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淪o the next couple years, we got quite a large construction projects, and those projects usually involve a lot of southern crews.

SA国际影视传媒淪o theySA国际影视传媒檝e got to stay somewhere, and traditionally they would either stay in motels on short trips, or they would rent apartments if theySA国际影视传媒檙e here for long periods of time,SA国际影视传媒� he added. SA国际影视传媒淏ut we have the crunch on rental units in housing, so the usual options are not there for renting apartments.

SA国际影视传媒淔or longer contracts, the motels are financially challenging for them and increase the project costs and also the hotels are pretty maxed out. Their focus is tourism, which is what we want to focus on in the city. So yeah, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a need here for housing for construction crews.SA国际影视传媒�

Following his purchase of the property, Warburton quickly began renovations to the motel.

SA国际影视传媒淩ight now, ISA国际影视传媒檓 kind of going through it and fixing it up,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚t was a little tired, so itSA国际影视传媒檚 making sure everythingSA国际影视传媒檚 functioning and kind of a basic cleanup in there, painting, etc.

SA国际影视传媒淭hen, kind of longer term, like a year, year and a half or so, (the plan) is to move it to co-living or like a shared living kind of a focus,SA国际影视传媒� he continued. SA国际影视传媒淪o youSA国际影视传媒檙e gonna have those rooms and suites and the common areas into like common amenity space.SA国际影视传媒�

With regards to the time frame for completing cleaning and repairs, Warburton is aiming for the end of October or sometime in November.

Currently, there are still residents living in the Northern Lites Motel, but Warburton isnSA国际影视传媒檛 looking to push anybody out immediately to make room for crews or other residents.

SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 no need for them to vacate right away,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Though Warburton is also a co-founder for CloudWorks, he confirmed his acquiring of the Northern Lites Motel is not a CloudWorks-based project.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 through my partner Sarah and I,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Instead, the work will be done under Warburton Holdings Ltd, but SA国际影视传媒渨ill be rebranded once the motel is ready to launch as a co-living space.SA国际影视传媒�