CITY POOL HALL SEIZED BY FEDS WILL BE SOLD, OTTAWA SAYS

A former Main Street pool hall seized under proceeds of crime three years
ago will finally be put up for sale, a federal government spokesman says.

Public Works and Government Services spokesman Denis Labossiere said the
two story building at Main and Atlantic Avenue will go up for public sale
after Aug. 15.

Labossiere said Ottawa is currently having the building appraised before
entertaining offers.

The red-brick building, at 1410 Main St., has five apartments upstairs and
a fully equipped restaurant on the main floor.

It was seized in July 2002 as part of Ottawa's clampdown on organized
crime. The seizure, the first of its kind in Canada, came after police
arrested several people connected to the Hells Angels for using the pool
hall as a front to sell cocaine.

However, it has sat empty for the past three years as the federal Liberals
looked at using the building as a homeless shelter despite at least two
private offers to purchase it. It was only last May that the government
abandoned the idea of using it as part of the national homelessness initiative.

The delay has been criticized by area politicians, including provincial
Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh, businessmen and residents.

"We don't want to see his business remain empty," Luxton Residents
Association Inc. spokesperson Rowena Fisher said. "The folks in the
community believe credible offers were made, but that the government seemed
to be holding out for some other agenda."

"We'd like to see it used for something that will benefit the entire
community," added Brian Tataryn of The Ultimate Guitar Works, next door to
the former Old Joe's.

Up until now the federal government has maintained the building and covered
all costs, from heating to property taxes. The 2006 preliminary market
value assessment for the building is $161,000, according to the City of
Winnipeg taxation department.