Can there be new life, again, for Gatineau Park's O'Brien Hotel?

In the heart of Gatineau Park sits a multi-storey home-turned-hotel overlooking Meech Lake and a vast expanse of forest.

It's called O'Brien House. Its history, as well as its unique cedar shingles, log siding and granite foundation, are all reasons the National Capital Commission (NCC) has chosen to preserve the property.

It sat empty for more than half of a century, until it received a $4-million facelift from the NCC in 2018. It opened briefly as a hotel, but closed less than two years later.

Save for a few NCC strategic meetings, and cleaning and maintenance staff, the building remains empty most days.

The NCC says it has a plan to change that. It's looking for interested business owners to take over the space, in hopes that the nearly century-old property can stand for another 100 years.

But so far, that plan has fallen flat.

A storied history

The house was built in the 1930s and designed by prominent architect Werner Noffke. Its owner, John Ambrose O'Brien, was the founding owner of the Montreal Canadiens and one of the founders of what later became the National Hockey League.

When the NCC bought it in 1964, the building was "on the verge of burning down," according to the organization's chief of leasing, real estate and development, Chris Hetherington.

Hetherington says the organization typically acquires properties for the purpose of heritage preservation and restoration. So there O'Brien house sat, waiting to be restored, until a plan was made in 2018.

"It was effectively mothballed until we determined what use it would be for," he said.

An unsuccessful attempt

In 2018, the house was rented to Wakefield hoteliers Robert Milling and Lynn Berthiaume for use as a boutique destination. Visitors could stay in high-end rooms with prices ranging from $229 to $729 per night.

It was only running for a short while before the hotel closed in 2019.

According to Hetherington, opinions differed on how the space should be used.

The NCC wanted the space to be open to the public, given the significant amount of taxpayer funding that went into restoring it, but the owners' plan to use it as a conference centre meant it would be closed most days to the public, he said. 

Milling declined an interview but said in a 2019 Facebook post that the property was not financially sustainable as "high operating costs exceeded revenues."

Now, the building is up for lease again. 

Looking forward

Hetherington said despite concerns about the hotel's brief opening, the NCC is determined to find a tenant who will thrive in the space.

He said the NCC would never give up the property to a private buyer or family. Gatineau Park is the "crown jewel" of the NCC, according to Hetherington. To preserve land in the park and prevent development, the NCC hopes to acquire as much land as possible.

But to ensure the property is accessible to the public, and enjoyed to its full potential, the NCC needs someone to occupy it.

While he wouldn't provide details, Hetherington said the NCC is in talks with a potential tenant.

"Good news is coming," he said.