Can there be new life, again, for Gatineau Park’s O’Brien Hotel? [Video]

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

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