Historic Charlottetown hotel getting multimillion-dollar makeover
CBC
An historic hotel in the heart of Charlottetown is undergoing a more than $10-million makeover.
Rodd Charlottetown on Kent Street is 93 years old and starting to show its age.
Mark Rostad, project manager with Rodd Hotels and Resorts, says the goal is to maintain the historical integrity of the building while preparing the property for another century.
"It's an amazing piece of Prince Edward Island that we're trying to restore," Rostad said, standing on the tarp-covered scaffolding fixed to the side of the hotel.
It's one of six hotels built across the country by Canadian National Railway — only four stand today.
The hotel has also hosted a number of dignitaries including the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1964.
"The hardest, hardest thing we've had to deal with here was finding brick that was matching brick that's been in this building for almost 100 years," Rostad said.
"We thought we had the perfect brick at this one point and brought in two truckloads of it and then when we got it here it was too orange."
An exploratory review of the five-storey hotel in 2018 showed some structural issues with the building, which was built in 1930.
Water is making its way into tiny crevices in the old brick, which is causing the brick to pop during freeze and thaw cycles.
That water is causing the steel beams inside the walls to rust, which is further pushing the brick out. Rostad said the brick damage is clearly visible from outside the hotel.
"Over the period of a number of years we've had a number of beams that we've exposed that there's a lot of signs of corrosion, big holes or rust."
The owners also decided to renovate all of the hotel's 115 rooms section by section around the hotel while the exterior work is being carried out. Rostad said work is also being done to reduce the environmental footprint of the hotel by adding insulation and installing energy efficient windows.
It is also laying the groundwork to switch the hotel to geothermal heating and cooling. He said the hotel now spends about $1,200 a day for heat and electricity.