Memramcook Institute sold with plans for housing, boutique hotel

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A boutique hotel is one of the potential new uses considered for a historic building in Memramcook. 

Mayor Maxime Bourgeois said the province’s sale of the Memramcook Institute was finalized last week. Bourgeois said the new owner is Moncton-based development company Heritage Developments Ltd.  

He said the village has been in communication with the company throughout the process. 

“We definitely want to have a good working relationship with them in the future,” he said.

Bourgeois called the institute the “heart of the downtown,” which houses a chapel that has hosted many weddings over the years. 

“We’re just hoping that the project will allow us to take advantage of the chapel again,” he said. 

Bourgeois said the company’s vision for the five-storey building includes converting two floors into a boutique hotel. 

A hotel would fill the missing piece for the local tourism industry, according to Bourgeois. He said the municipality is working with stakeholders to develop agrotourism in the area but there are no hotels for visitors to stay in. 

“It would be a very good tool for us to develop tourism,” he said. 

He said other ideas are to house apartment or condos on other floors and turn the main floor into commercial space. 

The mayor said the building originally housed the Collège Saint-Joseph, one of the first post-secondary institutions for Acadians. 

“It’s not only important for Memramcook but for l’Acadie entirely,” he said. 

He said the village is happy about the project and is looking forward to collaborating with Heritage Developments. 

Heritage Developments Ltd. did not respond to a request for comment.