Midnight Sun Hotel to rise again in Dawson City

The Midnight Sun Hotel and historic Caley Building, in Dawson City, Yukon, have new owners and there are plans to fix the buildings upand re-open the hotel.

The Tr'ochkLimited Partnership andNorthern Vision Development (NVD) havepurchased the buildings and refurbish them. The two buildings have sat vacant for several years.

"It's in surprisingly good shape,"says Rich Thompson, presidentand CEO of NVD, about the Midnight Sun Hotel.

"Maybe that's an overstatement it needs work, a lot of work but there are also aspects of it that are surprisingly in reasonable shape."

Thompson says the Tr'ondk Hwch'in Trust the independent investment arm of the Tr'ondk Hwch'in First Nation is providing the majority of financing for the properties.

"There's been a lot of activity in the economy up there, driven by mining interests and improved tourism. And we've certainly been the beneficiaries of that," said Thompson.

NVD and the Tr'ondk Hwch'in Trust alreadyown the Downtown Hotel in Dawson. The new purchasemeans they now have two hotels on the same blockin the center of town.

Maureen Birckel is the lead trustee for the Tr'ondk Hwch'in Trust.

"There has been a lot of things happening in Dawson,the tourism economy has been very good the Trustthinks this is a great opportunity to invest in our home community," said Birckel.

'A sign of confidence in the town'

The Midnight Sun Hotel was built in the early 1980s and designed to look like a Gold Rush-era building. It has 20 guest rooms, a restaurant, tavern,and store.

"Having a commercial property, a valuable commercial property like that, being reopened is a sign of confidence in the town," says Alex Somerville, executive director of the Dawson City Museum.

Thompson agrees.

"You know, when these things sit boarded up, there is a very visible indication of an economy that might not be working as well as it should be," he said.

He says Dawson residents will behappy to see the hotel open again.

"When these things happen, I think it generally signals positive things to the community and we're certainly getting that kind of feedback from people."

The Caleybuilding, originally built in 1901 and renovated in the 1980s,will be used for overflow hotel suites for guests, and staff housing.

Renovations are expected to begin right away, with the goal of having the Midnight Sun Hotelback in businessby next summer.