‘Plenty of interest in historic building’

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

A request for proposal (RFP) is expected to go out shortly as the Town seeks potential buyers of the Commercial Hotel.

Michelle McKenzie, the mayor, said “lots of interest” had already been shown in the historic building that has been empty for nine years.

“Any investor will be getting a good structure,” she said. “We want someone who will fix the building up and restore it.”

McKenzie said the Town had been working hard on reducing the Canada Revenue Agency debt that goes with the property.

There were also plans to tighten the bylaw to ensure a buyer does not move in and tear down the building.

On Friday, February 13, members of Maple Creek Town Council went on a tour of the hotel at 26 Pacific Avenue.

To their dismay, they came across evidence of vandalism.

“Vandals had broken into the top of the building and did a lot of damage,” said McKenzie.

Windows were broken, a TV had been ripped away, and one room was covered in blood.

“It looked like there had been a murder in there,” McKenzie added.

Fortunately, the rest of the property was undamaged.

Town Council members toured the Commercial Hotel on February 13.

Now Council intends meeting to discuss what to do with the historic building, which has been vacant for nine years.

“I look forward to us sitting down and figuring out the path forward on how we want that building dealt with,” said Councillor Mike Stork at the February 25 Council meeting. “It is important that we have some discussion on that.”

Michelle McKenzie, the mayor of Maple Creek, said she was also looking forward to discussions.

She hoped the Commercial Hotel could have a viable future.

The Commercial Hotel had its start when the T.C. Power Brothers of Fort Benton, Montana decided to build a two-storey, log structure of 25 rooms in 1885.

In the 1920s, the original hotel was demolished, but today the south wall of the present building shows the timber where the old hotel was once attached.

The Commercial Hotel went through several owners between 1945 and the early 1970s. On July 31, 1973, Bent Sorensen bought the Commercial Hotel and embarked on major renovations.

The hotel’s street appearance was updated, and the rooms on the second floor were modernized to include baths. The official opening of the newly renovated Commercial Hotel occurred on January 2, 1976.

Sam and Darlene Boychuck bought the Commercial Hotel in 1986. After 20 years, the couple sold the Commercial Hotel to Young Han Shin in 2006, who then sold it to Chung Lee.

In 2012, Lee sold the Commercial Hotel to a group of Filipino investors who had recently immigrated to Canada, settling in Maple Creek.

The seven stakeholders formed Licadel Hotel Group Ltd. and began rehabilitating the century-plus heritage landmark.

Sadly, the 1885 building closed again in April 2017 when the Licadel team declared bankruptcy, blaming the economy and other factors for exhausting all their resources. Several private contractors were left out of pocket as a result.